Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced the replacement of their wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das for the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Notably, Litton, who played only one game this season, joined KKR for INR 50 lakh (approx USD 60,000). However, the explosive opening batter left the KKR camp recently to attend to a medical emergency in his family.
Litton played against Delhi Capitals (DC), where he had a forgettable outing. The wicketkeeper-batter scored only 4 runs and missed two stumping opportunities of Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav, which eventually cost KKR as they ended up losing the contest.
The Knight Riders have now roped in West Indies star Johnson Charles as Litton’s replacement. Charles, who was a member of the Caribbean team that won T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016, brings a wealth of experience and skill to the table.
Charles has opened in 179 of his 219 T20 innings, in which the cricketer averages 25.47 and a strike rate of 125.72. Interestingly, Charles also carries the experience of batting in the middle order, as two of his three T20 centuries have come while batting at numbers 3 and 4.
It is worth mentioning that the Knight Riders are currently positioned at the eighth spot in the points table. They will be taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday and have matches scheduled against Punjab Kings (May 8), Rajasthan Royals (May 11), Chennai Super Kings (May 14) and Lucknow Super Giants (May 20).
“Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday named Johnson Charles as a replacement for Litton Das for the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Charles – a wicketkeeper-batter – has represented West Indies in 41 T20Is, scoring 971 runs and was a part of West Indies’ 2012 and 2016 ICC World Twenty20-winning squads. Additionally, he has played 224 T20s and has over 5600 runs against his name.He joins KKR for INR 50 Lakh,” read an IPL release.
