New Delhi: Veteran wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as the new captain of two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 11th edition of the tournament, as announced by the club on Sunday.
Fellow wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa, who has been an integral part of the side has been named as the vice-captain.
Knight Riders shelled out Rs 7.4 crore for the Karthik in the IPL auctions. The Tamil Nadu cricketer was one of the front-runners for the role after the Kolkata franchise chose not to buy back/retain Gambhir for this year’s IPL.
“It is an honour to represent Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the most successful franchises in the IPL and I look forward to this new challenge. I am excited about the squad that has been assembled, which has a great combination of experience and youth. I will do my best to represent brand KKR and the millions of KKR fans,” said Karthik, on his appointment.
Uthappa, Karthik’s deputy said that his association with the Tamil Nadu cricketer goes back to the U-17 days.
“DK and I know each other from our U-17 playing days; I’m really excited to work with him,” he said.
KKR assistant coach Simon Katich added, “I think the thing that stood out is that Karthik is at the age now in his career where he’s got the best years of his career in front of him.
“He’s been involved in the IPL for 10 years. He’s got a fantastic domestic record captaining Tamil Nadu in the T20 tournament there. I think he’s got a 72% win-rate which is outstanding as a T20 skipper. And obviously, the other thing about him is that he’s got a lot of respect from the players given what he’s achieved on the field and what he’s achieved as a captain domestically. He knows the conditions extremely well. He knows all the overseas players inside out having played so well over the last 10 years and this is a great time to give that opportunity to him and see what he can do.”
Karthik has an experience of captaining Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. He captained the India Red team that won the Duleep Trophy last year and also has tasted success in the Vijay Hazare trophy
when he led his state to the title in the 2009-2010 season. He has had decent success in the T20 format as he led TUTI Patriots to the Tamil Nadu Premier League title in 2016.
He has a 72% win record as a captain for Tamil Nadu in the shortest version of the game.
Earlier, Karthik has played for Gujarat Lions in the IPL in 2017 where he scored 361 runs, averaging 36.1. His best performance in the tournament came in it’s sixth edition for the eventual champions Mumbai Indians when he scored 510 runs and effected 14 dismissals. He has played a total of 152 matches in the IPL where he has also had stints with Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils.
He has a total of 2903 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 125.94 with 114 dismissals in his kitty. Barring his 14 T20Is for India, he has played a total of 228 matches in the shortest version of the game where he has scored 4441 runs with 186 dismissals.
Kolkata Knight Riders, who have won the title twice in 2012 and 2014 will begin their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens on April 8.