IPL 2018: KKR captain Dinesh Karthik ready to alter batting position

What's the story?

Dinesh Karthik, the newly-appointed captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, is willing to change his batting position to deal with 'tricky situations' in the IPL. Usually a dependable batsman in the middle order, Karthik is looking to handle pressure and fill in the boots of opener and former captain, Gautam Gambhir.

"I will bat at a different position than where I batted for India. IPL is about dealing with tricky situations, handling pressure. Everybody is here to do his best and I am no different,” said Karthik.

In case you didn't know...

Karthik was bought for 7.4cr by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the upcoming IPL season. The team was previously captained by Gambhir, who took them to the playoffs thrice (2011, 2016 and 2017) and also lifted the trophy twice (2012 and 2014).

The heart of the matter

The hero from the Nidahas Trophy final also said, “It's been close to 10 days since that innings, things have moved on...When we play Bangladesh, it's a different kind of pressure. If you win, you are like 'Okay, you have won', but if you lose it's like 'Wake up, what are you doing'. We had a good season and for us not to win that game would not have been nice. It was a great feeling.”

While his appointment as captain raised several eyebrows, he believes that he is ready for his new role.

At KKR's jersey launch, Karthik also added that he feels he is at the right stage of his career to get the best out of his team.

What's next?

The Kolkata Knight Riders kick off their campaign against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on the 8th of April at the Eden Gardens.

Author's take

With an average of 33.2 and a strike rate of 149.44 in T20Is, Karthik seems perfectly suited to bat lower down the order. To open the innings and fill the void left by Gambhir's departure just to 'handle pressure' wouldn't be the ideal thing to do. However, after 13 years of an on-off relationship with the Indian team, a thorough plan to make the best of these opportunities must be in place.