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IPL 2018: Dinesh Karthik appointed Kolkata Knight Riders captain; Robin Uthappa named vice-captain

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named senior wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik as their captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

IPL 2018: Dinesh Karthik appointed Kolkata Knight Riders captain; Robin Uthappa named vice-captain

Kolkata, March 4: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named senior wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik as their captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

IPL Special Site

The official announcement was made on Sunday (March 4), putting an end to speculations. The announcement was made at the Star Sports studios in the KKR-Star Sports show called Knight Club. Present on the occasion were KKR’s MD and CEO, Venky Mysore, and Karthik himself.

Karthik said he was looking forward to lead a side having a combination of youth and experience.

"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," said Karthik.

Mysore said, "It is indeed a start of a new phase for KKR, and we are delighted that someone, as experienced as Dinesh Karthik, will lead the side."

The 32-year-old cricketer from Tamil Nadu was bought by the franchise for Rs 7.5 crore in this year's IPL Auction in Bengaluru. Vastly experienced Karthik was amongst the frontrunners to emerge as the captain of the KKR.

The right-handed batsman will now be filling in the shoes of former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, who wasn't retained by the franchise for this season.

Karthik leapfrogged the likes of Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine to be named the skipper of the two-time IPL champions.

Uthappa, who has been team's most dependable batsman over the years, has been named Karthik's deputy.

The Tamil Nadu veteran has led his state side in several domestic tournaments. In Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016, Karthik led TUTI Patriots to the title. He also led Tamil Nadu to lift the 2016 Vijay Hazare Trophy by defeating Bengal in the finals.

He played for The Gujarat Lions, now defunct, in the last season and scored 361 runs in the tenth edition. Karthik has always been one of the safest stumpers in the tournament.

KKR will play opening game against Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 8 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Earlier, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) made Ravichandran Ashwin as their captain for the eleventh season of the cash-rich league.


KKR squad: Dinesh Karthik (C), Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Chris Lynn, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Nitish Rana, Vinay Kumar, Apoorv Wankhade, Rinku Singh, Shivam Mavi, Cameron Delport, Mitchell Johnson, Javon Searless.

Story first published: Sunday, March 4, 2018, 13:10 [IST]
Other articles published on Mar 4, 2018