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Eoin Morgan has been named the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper with immediate effect in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dinesh Karthik stepped down from captaincy mid-season after the team won four matches out of seven in the first half of the tournament.
There have been calls for Morgan to name the captain from the start of the season itself and it grew more when a few of Karthik’s decision went wrong. However, he led the team well in the games against CSK and KXIP. His choice to keep mystery spinner Sunil Narine at the back end of the innings was praised by many as KKR managed to win those two games from nowhere.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore lauds DK
Meanwhile, KKR CEO Venky Mysore has lauded Karthik for putting the team ahead of himself. He reckons that the team is fortunate to have leaders like Karthik and Morgan, and hoped that the duo will work together in tandem going forward in the tournament. Venky also thanked DK for his contribution to the team while leading the squad since the 2018 season.
“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. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes. We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice-captain, is willing to lead the side going forward.
“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,” Venky said.
World Cup winner Morgan will lead the Knight Riders when they take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Appointed England’s limited-overs captain in 2011, Morgan has led the team to 77 wins from 126 ODIs and 30 wins out of 52 T20Is.
