IPL 2020: Deep Dasgupta not surprised by Eoin Morgan taking over Dinesh Karthik as KKR captain
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Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta said he wasn’t surprised by Eoin Morgan being named the new Kolkata Knight Riders captain after Dinesh Karthik stepped down from the leadership duties in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta said he wasn’t surprised by Eoin Morgan being named the new Kolkata Knight Riders captain after Dinesh Karthik stepped down from the leadership duties in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
KKR on Friday announced that the 2019 World Cup winning captain will take over the captaincy duties from Karthik, who helped KKR win four out of seven matches in IPL 2020 so far.
Karthik has captained KKR in 37 matches since 2018 with a record of 19 wins and 17 defeats. While KKR qualified to the playoffs in 2018, they ended fifth in the league stage last season.
"I'm not surprised with this decision because more than Dinesh Karthik's form as a batsman or captain, we also have to notice the fact that KKR had a World Cup-winning skipper in their side in Eoin Morgan.
"I felt this was on the cards as soon as KKR had picked up Morgan in the auction in 2019. Your inclined to think on these lines when you have a World Cup-winning captain in your team," the cricketer-turned-commentator, told News Tak.
However, Dasgupta stated that KKR players might struggle to adapt to Morgan’s captaincy but backed the Englishman to carry the team forward in IPL 2020.
"KKR might fall apart or flourish after this decision. Team policies, strategies and mentality changes when there is a change in leadership, especially in the middle of a season, because every captain is different. There might be a few players who might not be able to adapt to the way Morgan leads the team or can't relate to his style of captaincy.
"But at the same time I think the way Morgan has led the England team in the past 2-3 years.... I think he has the capability to handle unforeseen situations but it will be interesting to see how he leads this team," Dasgupta said.
KKR will take on Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on Friday.