KKR rope in Johnson Charles as Litton Das' replacement for remainder of IPL 2023 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named West Indies opening batter Johnson Charles as their replacement for Litton Das for the remainder of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He was unsold in the 2023 mini-auction after registering himself for a base price of ₹50 lakh

Charles is a T20 veteran, having played 224 matches in his career. The explosive batter has scored 5607 runs at a strike rate of 130 since making his debut in 2008.

He was recently seen piling on runs for his national team during the T20I series against South Africa. The batter created history by amassing a 39-ball ball hundred in the second match at Centurion, which was the fastest ever for a Caribbean player.

The league released a brief statement on Thursday, May 4, that read:

"Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday named Johnson Charles as a replacement for Litton Das for the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023."

"Charles – a wicketkeeper-batter – has represented West Indies in 41 T20Is, scoring 971 runs and was a part of West Indies’ 2012 and 2016 ICC World Twenty20-winning squads. Additionally, he has played 224 T20s and has over 5600 runs against his name. He joins KKR for INR 50 Lakh."

KKR are currently placed eighth in the points table with only three wins from nine outings so far. They recently lost to Gujarat Titans (GT) at home and are slated to next face SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday, May 4.

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Litton Das had to leave the KKR camp midway through IPL 2023 due to a family emergency

KKR acquired the services of Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das for his base price of ₹50 lakh at the IPL 2023 mini-auction. The player missed the initial phase of the tournament due to national duty and made his debut against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

However, he was released from the squad on April 28 due to a family emergency. The franchise released a statement at the time that read:

“Litton Das has had to return to Bangladesh earlier today (Friday 28 April) due to an urgent family medical emergency. Our wishes go out to him and his family to make it through this difficult time.”

The two-time IPL champions have already lost some key players this season, including skipper Shreyas Iyer, Shakib Al Hasan, and now Litton Das.

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