Dinesh Karthik, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper, had every reason to celebrate after KKR beat David Warner’s SunRisers Hyderabad by seven wickets with two overs to spare at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Shubman Gill top-scored with unbeaten 70 and KKR are now placed 5th after one win and one loss as well. So far, six teams have two points each and the list is headed by Delhi Capitals who have four points after winning both their matches. Delhi Capitals won against KXIP by Super Over while beating CSK by 44 runs in their next match.
Dinesh Karthik Choses Three KKR Players Who He Would Trade From Table Toppers Delhi Capitals
In the meantime, Dinesh Karthik chose three KKR players who he would trade from Delhi Capitals (DC). Ravichandran Ashwin, who plays for the Delhi Capitals after being released by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), gave his Tamil Nadu teammate a hypothetical scenario of picking three cricketers while releasing three.
“I’ll give you a hypothetical scenario. In the movie Pandavar Bhoomi, there’s one family. So, you have to the opportunity to adopt three and give me three to adopt,” Ashwin told Karthik on the YouTube show ‘Hello Dubaiaah’ hosted by the former.
Ravichandran Ashwin was injured after bowling a superb over where he picked up two wickets and conceded two runs only. He dived in the last ball bowled by him while trying to save a single.
Dinesh Karthik Picks Kagiso Rabada, Ravi Ashwin And Shreyas Iyer As Probable Trade-Ins If Given A Choice
Dinesh Karthik named New Zealand’s pacer Lockie Ferguson to trade with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, who’s currently the Purple Cap holder in the extravagant T20 league with 5 wickets averaging a meagre 10.8 only. Then he said that he would trade dependable middle-order batsman Nitish Rana for DC captain Shreyas Iyer.
Nitish Rana has been with the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018 after impressing with the bat for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As his third and final pick, Dinesh Karthik named West Indian Sunil Narine, who he would trade for Ravichandran Ashwin itself.
The Trinidadian Sunil Narine has been with the Kolkata Knight Riders since 2012 and has contributed for them with both bat and ball. Sunil Narine is KKR’s leading wicket-taker with 123 wickets and has opened the batting successfully since 2017 mainly as a pinch-hitter.
“From your team Rabada. I’ll give Lockie Ferguson and take Kagiso Rabada. Another player… Who’s our No.3? Nitish Rana. So, I’ll give Nitish Rana to Delhi take Shreyas Iyer. Sunil Narine for R Ashwin,” Karthik said.
Seeing Karthik’s generous nature, Ashwin was excited and touched. “Heart’s been touched. He’s an opener too but I’m like for like replacement. Thank you so much,” Ashwin added.
As far as the IPL goes, Dinesh Karthik’s KKR are next scheduled to play against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Dubai next on September 30.
Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, is recovering from the shoulder injury that he suffered during DC’s opening match against KXIP. He has already missed one match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 25.