The biggest extravaganza of Indian cricket is just around the corner as the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off from March 31 (Friday). However, even before the tournament has begun, one of the most successful franchises of the league, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been dealt with a huge blow as their captain Shreyas Iyer will reportedly be ruled out of the entirety of the tournament due to a back injury.
The biggest question now is who will be leading the two-time champions KKR in absence of the dependable middle-order Indian batsman. It looks like the franchise are looking at two bowling all-rounders as the leading candidates to replace Iyer as their next skipper. 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.
The report states that KKR will make the announcement in a grand ceremony that will feature performances from their owner Shah Rukh Khan and a popular overseas singer.
“Within a day or two, KKR are set to make the announcement of their new captain in a grand function with their owner, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and an overseas pop star set to light up the occasion,” a source close to the developments told TOI.
Sunil Narine is an obvious choice, given the wealth of experience he has for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He is their leading wicket-taker in history, with 122 scalps, and has been an integral part in their two IPL triumphs in 2012 and 2014. He was also the skipper for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the IL20, where the franchise finished last in the table with just 3 points.
Shardul Thakur was traded in by the franchise from Delhi Capitals for a price of Rs 10.75 crore in place of Mumbai bowling all-rounder Aman Khan. Given, this will be his first season with the Kolkata 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.
