Ahead of the important clash against Mumbai, Kolkata appointed a new captain for the season. The current skipper Dinesh Karthik handed over the captaincy to England's white-ball cricket captain Eoin Morgan. Karthik has faced outrage from Kolkata fans because of his poor calls in captaincy in the first half of the tournament. Karthik also struggled with the bat and the reason was the big pressure of captaincy. Meanwhile, Morgan’s season has been excellent, having scored 175 runs in middle-over at an average of 35.
“Dinesh Karthik has informed the management that with a view to focusing on his batting and contributing more to the team’s cause, he wished to hand over the captaincy to Eoin Morgan,” The franchise said in a statement. Kolkata’s CEO Mysore said, "DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap."
Kolkata’s campaign has been impressive but they haven’t played like a champion. They suffered a huge defeat in their previous encounter against Bangalore. With giving Narine enough time in the opening slot, making changes in the batting order and taking different calls on the field – Dinesh Karthik’s first half at Indian T20 League has a mixed story.
Eoin Morgan has been outstanding as the skipper for England in the last few years. After a debacle in 2015 World Cup, led England to T20 World Cup final in 2016 and in 2019, he becomes the only English skipper to win the World Cup trophy in their cricket history. In the last 4-5 years, he has changed the approach of English cricket in white-ball cricket.
Morgan’s first target would be the playoff spot. Kolkata is placed at 4th with four wins out of seven and his first assignment as captain would be the Friday’s clash against defending champions who defeated Kolkata in their season opener.
