Ever since the IPL auction got over it has been a headache for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to pick a captain. Where all the others franchises have announced their captains, Kolkata remains the only team to appoint their captain.
Gautam Gambhir who will be playing for Delhi Daredevils this season has left a big hole in the Kolkata team. The biggest problem for the franchise is that the team does not boast of a player who has much experience as a skipper.
Amidst the dilemma, the Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla co-owned franchise has come up with an innovative idea to declare the name of their skipper for IPL 2018.
Notably, Knight Riders will announce their captain for the upcoming season on 4th March live at Star Sports Network.
Meanwhile, talking about KKR’s captain option, former India, as well as KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly, said that the Kolkata-based team has very limited options as they did not retain Gautam Gambhir.
“In the current team, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik are captaincy material. Whether they will opt for Chris Lynn is a question because not many teams appoint a foreign captain. However, the franchise must give the new captain stability like they gave to Gautam Gambhir,” Ganguly said.
Also speaking on the qualities the Kolkata franchise is seeking in their next captain, KKR Assistant Coach Simon Katich said, “While on-field characteristics play an important role, we are also looking at someone who can be a big part of the camp off the field. It is important how the captain goes around and creates a friendly atmosphere in the camp by not always talking cricket and also getting to know the players and their characteristics.”
The 11th edition of IPL will begin from April 7 with defending champions Mumbai Indians hosting two-time winners Chennai Super Kings.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their IPL 2018 journey at the Eden Gardens against Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, April 8.
