Kolkata Knight Riders sprung a big surprise by announcing Dinesh Karthik as their skipper for the upcoming season.
The franchise announced the big news on Sunday (March 4). The 32-year-old, who was picked up by Knight Riders for INR 7.4 Crore in this year’s mega-auction, and was one of the front-runners to lead the side.
He had led Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. The right-handed batsman led Tamil Nadu to a title triumph in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2009-10.
He was also the captain of the India Red side that won the Duleep Trophy last year.
In T20s, the Tamil Nadu man led TUTI Patriots to the Tamil Nadu Premier League title in the 2016 edition.
Meanwhile, Twitter was quick to react to the decision and as expected the decisions were mixed. Here are some of the reactions.
The one thing that @DineshKarthik hasn't had in the #IPL is stability. Hopefully leadership of a huge franchise #KKR will give him that.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 4, 2018
Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as the captain of #KKR
Basically DK did a Murli Vijay to Robin Uthappa..#IPL2018
— Vaishali♀️ (@vaishali_45) March 4, 2018
https://twitter.com/ImAbhishek7_/status/970157402686308352?
https://twitter.com/Sajjanlaunda/status/970152402966822912?
Dinesh Karthik appointed as KKR captain….
First, Ashwin and now, DK… TN boys full rocking. Wish CSK had more local players ????
— Chiggy Viggy (@IdlySambhar) March 4, 2018
@KKRiders appoint @DineshKarthik as the new KKR skipper ahead of the #IPL2018
Gautam Gambhir to Dinesh Karthik,
Name a better downgrade than this. I'll wait! ? pic.twitter.com/VhZeIPpd43— NoLifeWithoutCricket (@NLWC07) March 4, 2018
Out of nowhere, Dinesh Karthik has been announced to lead Kolkata Knight Riders in the #IPL2018. I thought, like many others, that Robin deserved to be named as captain, given his credentials and contribution he had put in on for KKR.
— ?????? ????? (@GautamSodhi1) March 4, 2018
https://twitter.com/JoySRKian_/status/970164470596108289
Other ipl team fans:- We have Kohli, Rohit, MSD, Smith as captains
Kkr fans:- Bhai we have "Dinesh Karthik" as DK
They:- Bhag bhosdike
????— Black & White ? (@Heyitsdfa) March 4, 2018
Dinesh Karthik appointed KKR captain
SRKian :- pic.twitter.com/BS2WoVVHxM
— RahuL Choudhury (@Rahul_SRKians) March 4, 2018
Robin Uthappa to KKR as Dinesh karthik appointed as new captain.@KKRiders @VenkyMysore pic.twitter.com/3xuEAsJnc6
— HITMAN (@GaikarRoopam) March 4, 2018
KKR fans after knowing that Dinesh Karthik is the new captain pic.twitter.com/JQfAEI4URq
— Abhishek ︎ (@ImAbhishek7_) March 4, 2018
Meanwhile, Karthik expressed his delight over the new role, saying it is an honour to lead the side.
“It is an honour to represent Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the most successful franchises in the IPL and I look forward to this new challenge. I am excited about the squad that has been assembled, which has a great combination of experience and youth. I will do my best to represent brand KKR and the millions of KKR fans,” the newly appointed captain said.
The Knight Riders are one of the most dominating teams in the league. The Kolkata-based franchise has won the IPL twice since 2011 and Karthik will be looking to continue the same trend.