Dinesh Karthik was named captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday ahead of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The announcement was made live on Star Sports by the team management on Sunday morning.
Talking to reporters after the announcement, Karthik said he was very pleased to receive the honour and would like to carry on with the legacy of past captains Gautam Gambhir and Sourav Ganguly.
In the run up to the announcement, Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa had emerged as the frontrunner to lead the two-time IPL winning franchise from Kolkata. Uthappa, who was later named vice captain, though welcomed the decision and said the right choice was made.
Karthik was also all praise for Uthappa and said both of them complement each other well.
“Robin and I share a great deal of camaraderie. We have different personalities and therefore we play a perfect foil to each other. I take my decisions rationallly and don’t like to show too much of emotion. Robin, on the other hand, is quite emotional and loves to wear his heart on his sleeve. In that sense, we make a perfect pair,” the 32-year-old said.
Karthik also appeared excited with the talent pool that is at his disposal at the KKR.
{{/usCountry}}Karthik also appeared excited with the talent pool that is at his disposal at the KKR.
{{/usCountry}}“We have a great balance. Lynn, Russell, Starc and Narine are probably going to be our four overseas players in the team and all of them are proven match winners. We have a great bunch of Indian players as well.”
The Tamil Nadu batsman also said he would use this opportunity to press for his inclusion in the Indian team as well.
“I am looking forward to doing well with bat as well as gloves behind the stumps. Hopefully, I will be able to establish myself as a key member of Indian team in future as well.”