Last Update on: March 3rd, 2018 at 08:41 pm
Kolkata Knight Riders will unveil their new captain in a televised event tomorrow (March 4).
The franchise will follow the footsteps of Rajasthan Royals, who also announced their captain in a televised event.
Kings XI Punjab though made the same announcement on social media, done by their mentor Virender Sehwag.
Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik seem the front-runner for the post of captain.
First talking of Uthappa, he is veteran of 16 first-class seasons and has also led his former state Karnataka in domestic cricket.
Though he was not the vice-captain of KKR when Gambhir was captain, always had a crucial role in the decision making process by being one of the experienced players in the side.
The franchise also retained him by use of Right to Match Card (RTM) for a handsome amount of Rs 6.40 Crore, which shows that the franchise has big plans for him.
He is a strong contender to take up the job.
The second player on the list is Dinesh Karthik, who has also played Test cricket, unlike Uthappa.
He has also led his state side in domestic cricket.
Karthik was the deputy to Kevin Pietersen in IPL 2014.
He also led the team when Pietersen was out due to injury.
Though, he doesn’t have an experience of leading an IPL team on a consistent basis.
The franchise bought him for an amount of Rs 7.40 Crore.
Uthappa and Karthik are the only players from the squad who look contenders for the job of captain.
Though, there are some light contenders in the form of Andre Russel, Piyush Chawla, Chris Lynn and Mitchell Johnson.
It is to be noted that the franchise had already had plans with Russell and provided him with separate staff who helped him work on his fitness during the period when he was banned.
Chawla is experienced campaigner, who is one of the regulars players in IPL and has also led his state-side.
Head Coach Jacques Kallis mentioned Chris Lynn’s name.
An injury to him has now made him a lightweight contender for the post.
The last name on the list is Mitchell Johnson, whose experience and credentials are too good to be ignored.
Though, there are minute chances of this event happening.
In all probability, either of Uthappa or Karthik will take up the role.
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