The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off from March 31, and fans are eagerly waiting for the biggest extravaganza of Indian cricket. However, one of the most successful franchises of the league, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have been dealt with a huge blow even before the tournament begins. Their captain, Shreyas Iyer, will reportedly miss the entire tournament due to a back injury.
The absence of Iyer has raised a big question for KKR – who will be leading the two-time champions in his absence?
According to a report by the Times of India, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur are leading the race to become KKR skipper for IPL 2023.
Narine is an obvious choice, given the wealth of experience he has for the Knight Riders. He has been an integral part of their two IPL triumphs in 2012 and 2014 and is their leading wicket-taker in the tournament’s history, with 122 scalps. He was also the skipper for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the recent International League (IL) T20.
On the other hand, Thakur was traded in by the franchise from Delhi Capitals (DC) for a price of INR 10.75 crore in place of Mumbai bowling all-rounder Aman Khan. While this will be his first season with the Knight Riders, it is a strange choice to make him skipper in his very first outing. However, given the fact that he is a leading Indian player, he may get the nod ahead of Narine.
The report further states that KKR will make the announcement of their new skipper in a grand ceremony that will feature performances from their co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and a popular overseas pop-star. It remains to be seen who the franchise will choose as their new leader and how they will perform in the upcoming tournament.
Fans are eagerly waiting for the IPL to begin and witness their favourite teams and players in action.
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