Abu Dhabi: Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik on Friday stepped down as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, handing over the reins to his English deputy Eoin Morgan hours before the IPL match against Mumbai Indians here.
Karthik 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 take 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."
Midway into the ongoing season, KKR find themselves at fourth place in the points table with four wins and three losses. Morgan was widely tipped to take over at some point from Karthik given the topsy-turvy run.
"...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," Mysore said.
"On behalf of everyone at Kolkata Knight Riders, we thank DK for all his contributions as the captain over the past two and a half years and wish Eoin the very best going forward."
Even though Mysore termed Karthik's decision surprising, the move was always on the cards with a World Cup-winning captain in the mix.
The veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman's captaincy had come under intense criticism due to the team's erratic campaign so far.
If KKR has won four games so far, it could well have been half as they had two miraculous escapes against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, matches where it was more about opposition losing than KKR winning.
Insult to injury was mystery spinner Sunil Narine being reported again for a suspect action. He has not been included in the side ever since the umpires raised objection to his action.
Karthik's own battig has been pretty scratchy save the half-century against Kings XI Punjab which also got him the man-of-the match award.
Strategically, he hasn't been at his best like the match against Delhi Capitals at Sharjah where he promoted himself ahead of Morgan, who is a bigger match-winner currently and also nearly got the team home.
Also not playing a quality spinner like Kuldeep Yadav on a slow Sharjah track did raise a few question marks.
His backing of young pacers Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, two bowlers with same kind of variations, instead of a Prasidh Krishna, who was brilliant at the death agaimst KXIP, didn't speak too well of his flexibility in leadership approach.
In fact, during the last season where KKR missed the play-offs by a whisker, their Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell had publicly criticised Karthik for sending him lower down the order with so much to do and very few deliveries left.
Russell hit an astounding 52 sixes in the last edition which went in vain. This year, the West Indian was promoted up the order but hasn't been able to replicate his form from last season.
While batsman Karthik with all his experience will still be an automatic choice as a playing member, Morgan, with calmness and better match-reading qualities, may bring in the consistency that the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise so desperately needs.
The England captain, in a recent interview to PTI, had said that "one doesn't need to be a captain in order to be a leader". In fact, he normally stands at long-on and long-off and is seen constantly talking to the bowlers and helping them with field placements.
For Karthik, a major problem was constant comparisons with double IPL winning former skipper Gautam Gambhir, who was removed in 2018 after Karthik played that epic 8-ball-29 at the Nidahas Trophy.
The first season wasn't bad as he took the team to play-offs but the performance has tapered off since last season.
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Jaipur, Mar 28: Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Thursday.
Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36 for 3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185 for 5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.
Parag, who was promoted to number 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score.
Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173 for 5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs.
Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match.
South African pacer Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.
"Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do from here is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game," DC skipper Rishabh Pant said.
DC were reduced to 34 for 2 in the fourth over with Burger taking two wickets in three balls in a fine display of fast bowling.
Burger, who was brought in as Impact Sub for Shimron Hetmyer, dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
DC captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat at the fall of Bhui's wicket and along with senior batter David Warner built the innings without taking too much risk. Delhi were 89 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Warner was the more aggressive one as he got the boundaries to keep DC in the hunt. The senior Australian batter fell one run short of his fifty courtesy a brilliant diving catch by Sandeep Sharma off the bowling of Avesh in the 12th over.
Warner and Pant were involved in a crucial 67-run partnership for the third wicket.
Playing in his 100th IPL match and 14 months after a horrible car crash, Pant tried to build the innings with occasional boundaries. But he got out for a 26-ball 28 as Chahal induced a faint lower edge for Sanju Samson to do the rest behind the stumps in the 14th over.
The asking rate shot up to more than 13 runs an over and DC needed 66 from the last five overs.
Stubbs kept DC in the game with two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, but in the end the Delhi side were short by 12 runs.
They needed 34 runs from the final two overs which they could not get. It was DC's second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.
Royals captain Samson struck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar before nicking a Khaleel Ahmed delivery two overs later to Pant to get out for 15.
RR were 30 for 2 by then as Mukesh had given DC their first breakthrough with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The Royals were in more trouble after wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav literally forced his captain Pant to take a review, which later proved to be successful, to dismiss Englishman Jos Buttler for an LBW decision.
Ashwin came out to bat at number five and he lofted a Kuldeep delivery for a six to help RR reach 58 for 3 at halfway stage. He gave Nortje even a harsher treatment with two sixes in the next over that yielded 15 runs.
Ashwin, however, holed out to Tristan Stubbs near the boundary ropes for a 19-ball 29.
Parag then made his presence felt, striking two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to take RR past 100 in the 15th over.