IPL 2018: KKR Kicks off Pre-season camp without Dinesh Karthik and Jacques Kallis

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kicked off their pre-season practice camp at Jadavpur University second campus ground in Kolkata, as per a report in Press Trest of India (PTI).

However, the camp was started in the absence of Dinesh Karthik and Head Coach Jacques Kallis from South Africa.

Karthik has returned to India after his heroics in the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh.  He surely needs some rest before joining the camp for the impending IPL edition.

On the other hand, the reason behind Kallis’ absence is yet to be ascertained.

As per the report, both of them will join the team’s camp later this month (March).

Karthik will is the star attraction in the camp, especially after hitting a six on the final ball of the Nidahas Trophy.

India needed five runs to win off a solitary ball and Karthik smashed a flat six over extra cover to lead to India to a great win.

Meanwhile, KKR will kick off their IPL campaign against Royall Challengers Bangalore on April 8.

The franchise had recently appointed Karthik as its captain.

This will be the first time when he will lead a team on a full-time basis. He will succeed Gautam Gambhir for the fresh job.

Gambhir remained associated with the franchise for past seven years before the franchise released him.

The left-handed batsman was purchased by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 2.80 Crore and was also appointed as the captain. He will play for Delhi Daredevils after seven years.

Robin Uthappa is retained by KKR. He will serve KKR as the deputy of Karthik. Uthappa was one of the players who attended the practice camp as well.

Along with him, players like Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti also attended the camp. Chris Lynn, who is recovering from should injury, was not part of the camp.

Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Singh Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Vijay Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi

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