Despite missing nine first-choice players because of IPL, New Zealand played brilliantly against Pakistan to share the honours in the T20 series
cricket2 hours ago
It takes a lot of courage to be a captain and lead by example. But it takes more than just courage to relinquish it.
And Eoin Morgan paid a glowing tribute to Dinesh Karthik, who stepped down from the Kolkata Knight Riders captaincy during the ongoing IPL.
Karthik informed the KKR team management ahead of their fixture against the Mumbai Indians that he wanted to concentrate on his batting and felt that handing over the mantle to Morgan was in the best interests of the team.
And Morgan spoke very highly of Karthik with the roles now reversed between them. Morgan will lead the ship, while Karthik will act as his deputy,
"DK (Dinesh Karthik) informed yesterday (Thursday) that he would like to step back and focus on his batting as he feels that's the best option for the team," Morgan said during the toss at the start of the game against the Mumbai Indians.
"It's incredibly selfless and it also shows a lot of courage from him to do that, putting the team first ahead of him being skipper," he added.
Morgan, no stranger to captaincy, having guided England to their first ever World Cup last year, said that it was a pleasure to take on the role.
"I'm delighted to continue the leadership role within the side, obviously captain and not vice captain now, but hopefully continue to work alongside our players. I have continued to be myself, within any good side around the world, you have to have a number of leaders within the change room. I think we have them in abundance," said the 34-year-old.
Venky Mysore, the CEO of KKR, too echoed Morgan.
"We are fortunate to have leaders such as DK, who has always put the team first," Mysore said in a statement.
"It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes. We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice captain, is willing to lead the side going forward. DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner," he added.
But Morgan didn't have a memorable start with the Knight Riders going down miserably to the Mumbai Indians on the night.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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