Karthik stepping down from KKR captaincy incredibly selfless: new skipper Morgan
Abu Dhabi: Kolkata Knight Riders' new skipper Eoin Morgan on Friday hailed Dinesh Karthik's decision to step down as captain of the IPL side as an "incredibly selfless" act of putting the team ahead of an individual.
Karthik handed over the reins to his deputy Morgan hours before their IPL match against Mumbai Indians here.
"Yes, I was surprised as was everybody. Yesterday, DK informed he want to step back and focus on his batting as he feels that is the best option for the team," Morgan said in an interview with Darren Ganga.
"I think it is incredibly selfless and that also shows a lot of courage from him to do that, putting the team first ahead of him being the skipper."
He said he will continue to take help from other players in the leadership group, including Karthik.
"I am delighted to continue the leadership role within this side. Obviously captain and not vice-captain now, and hopefully, continue to work alongside our players.
"I think between me and Dinesh, captain and vice-captain, we can be at the forefront of that, obviously the driving engine, with these guys behind us."
Morgan said a lot of youngsters, such as Shubman Gill, have also been "leading from the front".
"I have been quite myself. Within any good side or great side in the world, you have to have a number of leaders within the change room and we have them in abundance.
"We have a lot of young guys coming through, lead from the front. Gill, Rana to name a few. Nagarkoti stepped up at different stages and we have an abundance of overseas players to lead as well.
"We are halfway through the tournament at the moment. We have shown some potential and have not yet achieved the majority of... Tonight will be another test and hopefully, we will be up to it."
Karthik had told the KKR management that he wants to "focus on his batting and contributing more to the team's cause." Appointed skipper in 2018, the 35-year-old led KKR in 37 matches.
"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 make a decision such as this," team CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement.
"While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes."
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Cong performed better in Kerala, anti-incumbency trends influenced WB, TN: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress had largely met or exceeded expectations in several States, even as results in some regions reflected shifting voter sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said the party accepted the mandate in Assam while performing better than anticipated in Kerala.
He also pointed to possible anti-incumbency trends influencing outcomes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
“In Assam, we got the expected result, and we accept the people’s mandate. In Kerala, we have won more seats than expected. We anticipated around 76 to 80, but we have gone up to around 95,” Siddaramaiah said.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, there may have been an anti-incumbency trend, and that could have influenced the results, he added.
Siddaramaiah also extended his congratulations to a new political entrant in Tamil Nadu, noting the emergence of a different electoral dynamic in the State.
“I congratulate the new entrant who has achieved success there,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said electoral outcomes in some States had diverged from the party’s internal assessments, reflecting evolving voter expectations.
“We expected a certain trend, but the results have been different. Political reading was wrong in some places,” he said.
“People were looking for change in some States, and that has been reflected in the results,” Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, said.
Referring to Kerala, he said the Congress-led alliance had benefited from public sentiment.
“There was already an expectation based on local body elections, and people had shown confidence in us. That has translated into a strong result,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
On Tamil Nadu, he acknowledged that the scale of political shift had come as a surprise.
“We expected to secure around 30 to 40 per cent of the vote share, but such a major shift was not anticipated. It shows that voter expectations were different,” he said.
Shivakumar added that electoral outcomes underscored the need for better political assessment in future.
“We have to understand these changes carefully. Political reading cannot go wrong like this,” he said.
