Dinesh Karthik: We have a well-rounded side

Dinesh Karthik, who led KKR to the IPL playoffs last season, said the team was bolstered after assessing its performance.

KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik is confident of his side's success in the upcoming IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday said that he has got a stronger team for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting on March 23.

Karthik, who led KKR to the IPL playoffs last season, said the team was bolstered after assessing its performance.

READ: IPL 2019 schedule: CSK plays RCB in first match

"We have a slightly different team than that of last year. We are really looking forward to the season. We have realised what we lacked last year. So we have added resources accordingly. So, it's a more well-rounded team this year," said Karthik during an interaction on the sidelines of the Mayor's Cup cricket tournament at the Eden Gardens.

Time to #KorboLorboJeetbo

Here's our schedule for the first 2 weeks of VIVO #IPL2019! #KKRHaiTaiyaarpic.twitter.com/LEh5ctCpnq

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) February 19, 2019

 

On the possibility of KKR playing at a neutral venue owing to forthcoming general elections, Karthik said, "I will miss Kolkata because there are certain vibes - you are playing at the Eden Gardens, 60,000 people cheering you. We will massively miss it. The schedule has not come out yet, so it's early for me to comment. If we don't play a few matches (here), I will miss the Eden Gardens terribly."

KKR CEO Venky Mysore said the franchise had not received any guidelines from the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) regarding workload management of the players ahead of the World Cup.

"If May 12 is the (IPL) final and India plays its first match on June 5, then there is enough gap. But we have not had any such guidance or instruction," Mysore said.