IPL 2020 Auction: Dinesh Karthik will remain KKR skipper, confirms new head coach Brendon McCullum
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have confirmed that Dinesh Karthik will remain their captain for the IPL 2020.
When KKR bought World Cup-winning England skipper Eoin Morgan at the auction on Thursday, there began speculations that Morgan could replace Karthik as KKR's new captain. However, KKR's new head coach Brendan McCullum cleared the air saying Karthik will definitely lead KKR.
Speaking to the reporters during the auction in Kolkata on Thursday, McCullum said," Dinesh is definitely our captain. We wanted to get as much experienced leadership as possible and Eoin Morgan is one of the very best leaders going around currently in our game.
A perfect lieutenant for Dinesh Karthik and he (Morgan) will also fill the gap at No.4. He is in the form of his life. He is going to be a fine asset coming back to KKR."
After KKR bought Morgan for INR 5.25 crore, they hit headlines when they secured World No. 1 Test bowler Pat Cummins for INR 15.50 crore. The Aussie pacer broke Ben Stokes' record bid of INR 14.5 crore at the IPL 2017 auctions to become the most expensive foreign buy in the history of India's glamorous T20 league.
When Cummins' name was announced, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) began the bidding war. KKR joined the battle at INR 15 crore before beating their rivals to the historic purchase.
On Asked about Cummins' bid, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said," We would have come up earlier but then we saw the money for him was going up. We were interested in him. He was a key player we were targetting. We are delighted to get him."
Meanwhile, the former New Zeland skipper McCullum termed Cummins as the best player in the auction. "I thought he was the best player in the auction so it was great to have him. He is grown into a robust player in terms of injury. He is now vice-captain of the Australian team and it's a mark of his development of a player in the last couple of years," McCullum added.