IPL 2020: Karthik quits as KKR captain, in-form Morgan to lead team

Dinesh Karthik quit as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in the middle of IPL on Friday to hand over the reigns of captaincy to England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan, the franchise announced on their website on Friday.

Dinesh Karthik made the decision to focus on his batting and “contributing more to the team’s cause”, the website stated.

As a captain, Morgan’s task is cut as KKR take on an in-form and defending champions Mumbai Indians team at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The KKR management thanked Karthik for his contributions as captain “over the past two and a half years” and wished Eoin Morgan the best going forward. “We are fortunate to have leaders such as DK, who has always put the team first. It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes. We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice captain, is willing to lead the side going forward,” Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, was quoted as saying on the official website.

“DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner,” he added.

KKR have not been consistent in this season of IPL and the team expects Morgan to bring in that stability to the team’s performance. KKR are currently fourth on the IPL 2020 points table with four wins and three losses to their name.

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Karthik himself has not been very steady with the bat this season. Except for a rapid 58 against Kings XI Punjab, the wicketkeeper-batsman has failed to leave his mark.

Morgan, the Irishman, has done way better despite being made to bat at different positions so far. He has played all seven games for KKR so far this time, scoring 175 runs at an average of 35 and a strike-rate of 129.62. He is the second highest run-getter for KKR in IPL 2020, behind Shubman Gill.