IPL 2020: Dinesh Karthik hands over KKR captaincy to Eoin Morgan

Dinesh Karthik has stepped down as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders to focus on his batting.

Dinesh Karthik has given up his captaincy to focus on his batting. - BCCI/IPL

Dinesh Karthik has decided to hand over the captaincy of the Kolkata Knight Riders to Eoin Morgan to focus on his batting.

“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 (for England), who has been the vice-captain, is willing to lead the side going forward,” Venky Mysore, CEO, Kolkata Knight Riders said in a statement.

“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,” Mysore stated.

 

 

The Knight Riders, after seven matches played, are positioned fourth in the points table. They have four wins and three losses, including an 82-run drubbing against Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this week.

 

Karthik has managed a single half-century - his innings of 58 contributing to a two-run win over Kings XI Punjab - from the seven matches he has played, and aggregates 108 runs. Morgan, on the other hand, doesn't have a half-century to his name but has been more productive with the bat, scoring 175 at an average of 35; he is behind in his team only to Shubman Gill.

Karthik has served as the captain of the Knight Riders ever since Gautam Gambhir stepped down in IPL 2018.