Less than a week ahead of the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai, the Kolkata Knight Riders have confirmed that it will be Shreyas Iyer who’ll take over the captaincy role from Nitish Rana in the upcoming season.
In a press release on Thursday, KKR CEO Venky Mysore stated, “It was indeed unfortunate that Shreyas missed IPL 2023 due to injury. We are delighted that he’s back and at the helm as Captain. The way he has worked hard to recover from his injury and the form he has displayed is a testament to his character.”
Iyer was bought by KKR in IPL 2022 auction for 12.25 crore and had captained the side in the season to a seventh place finish on the points table. Previously, Iyer was also captain of the Delhi Capitals franchise and had led the franchise to their maiden IPL final appearance in 2020.
On being appointed as the skipper, Shreyas was quoted by the franchise saying, “I believe the last season presented us with several challenges, including my absence due to injury. Nitish did a great job not only filling in for me but also with his commendable leadership. I am delighted that KKR has named him Vice Captain. No doubt it will strengthen the leadership group.”
Furthermore, Mysore added, “We are also grateful that Nitish had agreed to step into Shreyas’s shoes last season and did a great job. There’s no doubt Nitish as Vice captain will support Shreyas in every possible way for the benefit of Team KKR.”
It was Rana who’d skippered the two-time IPL winners last season, where they won six of their 14 matches in the league stage and finished seventh in the points table.
Having won the title in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, who has returned back to the franchise in the capacity of a team mentor, Kolkata have only made it to the playoffs once since 2018.
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