IPL 2020: Aakash Chopra Doubts Whether Dinesh Karthik Gave Up KKR Captaincy Voluntarily

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed doubts over Dinesh Karthik’s willingness to give up the captaincy of Kolkata Knight Riders midway in IPL 2020. Keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik stepped down from the position as Eoin Morgan took over charge; however, the move was not enough to lift the franchise to the playoffs. Aakash Chopra was also doubtful whether Eoin Morgan was the correct choice.

While Dinesh Karthik’s form with the bat was not outstanding, his captaincy showed plenty of promise. Dinesh Karthik captained the Knight Riders to four victories in seven matches and stepped down was the second half of the competition was about to get underway. The four wins also included defeating Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings after both the teams were once firmly in winning positions.

Aakash Chopra pointed out with four victories from seven matches, Kolkata Knight Riders would have gone through by replicating that performance and that eight wins would have been enough. The 43-year old reminded that Delhi Capitals qualified for the playoffs having the same number of points. Hence, he doubts Dinesh Karthik left the leadership role.

“Firstly, I am disappointed because when you win four of your first seven matches and if you replicate that performance, then you are through, eight victories were more than enough for you to qualify. Delhi actually came second with 16 points. So if things go bad from there, you change the captaincy halfway, it has been said that Dinesh Karthik gave up the KKR captaincy but would he have done that?,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said in a video shared on his Facebook page.

Aakash Chopra questions the decision to appoint Eoin Morgan as captain:

The former Indian opener questioned whether the team’s performances improved after making Eoin Morgan as captain. The 43-year old was also of the view whether Morgan’s tactics would be correct moving forward and being an overseas cricketer if he is a certainty in the team. Nevertheless, Aakash accepts that the Irishman’s show with the bat was excellent.

“Did the team’s performances improve after the captaincy was handed over to Eoin Morgan? Is Eoin Morgan the right captain will also be a big question because he is an overseas player and is he right in terms of his tactics and is he a 100% certainty in the team although his performance was good at the end,” Chopra added.

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