Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered yet another setback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 after their opening batter Litton Das returned to Bangladesh due to a family medical emergency. He is also unlikely to participate in the remainder of the IPL season as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted him a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) only until May 4 before arriving in India.
Litton played only one game for KKR in the 16th edition of the IPL, where he scored four runs off as many balls. Notably, He missed the initial matches of the tournament due to international commitments.
The Kolkata-based franchise released a statement to communicate the news of Litton’s departure to his home town.
“Litton Das has had to return to Bangladesh earlier today (Friday 28 April) due to an urgent family medical emergency. Our wishes go out to him and his family to make it through this difficult time.” read KKR’s statement.
It is also noteworthy that KKR had earlier lost the services of Shakib Al Hasan, another player from Bangladesh, who opted out of the entire IPL season. However, England’s Jason Roy was signed by Kolkata as Shakib’s replacement.
Although the Bangladesh all-rounder’s withdrawal was a major blow for KKR, Roy’s addition to the team proved to be a great move. The Englishman scored a couple of fifties for KKR and has looked in good touch so far.
As far as KKR’s performance in the league is concerned, they recently broke their losing streak with a victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Roy played a sensational knock for his side in the contest scoring 56 runs off 29 balls and was instrumental in his team’s win. Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy picked up three wickets for Kolkata and gave away just 27 runs in his quota of four overs.
With only three wins in eight games, KKR is currently seventh in the IPL standings. Their next game is against Gujarat Titans (GT), whom they have defeated once earlier this season. The match will be played on Saturday (April 29) at KKR’s home ground, i.e. iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
