Two-time Champions Kolkata Knight Riders have secured the services of experienced West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Johnson Charles INR 50 lakh in place of Bangladesh’s Litton Das, who left IPL mid-way to return home due to a family emergency.
Litton Das has played one game for the two-time champions in this edition of the Indian Premier League and scored only four runs against Delhi Capitals before leaving the country due to a family emergency. Earlier, before the tournament, his countrymate Shakib al Hasan opted out of the tournament citing personal reasons and was later replaced by England Opener Jason Roy.
“Litton Das had to return to Bangladesh earlier today (Friday, April 28) due to an urgent family medical emergency. Our wishes go out to him and his family to make it through this difficult time,” KKR informed in a statement a few days back.
Litton Das will be a huge loss for the Nitish Rana side as he has been in sublime touch in recent times and has been a prolific run-scorer for Bangladesh across formats. He also had a stellar time with the bat in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered a string of injuries since they lost their skipper Shreyas Iyer at the start of the tournament, with Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, and Jason Roy having few injury worries being in the squad, as they could play all the matches in the tournament.
? NEWS ?@KKRiders name Johnson Charles As Replacement For Litton Das.
Details ? #TATAIPLhttps://t.co/YlXMvvsRhp pic.twitter.com/0Qtiiseqw4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 4, 2023
Johnson Charles, a wicketkeeper-batter made a comeback into the side for the T20 World Cup following stunning form in CPL 2022 and has represented West Indies in 41 T20Is, scoring 971 runs. He was part of West Indies’ 2012 and 2016 World T20-winning squads and is known for his hard-hitting skill set.
Earlier against South Africa, Johnson Charles scored a hundred off just 39 balls to become the fastest by a West Indian to score a century breaking Chris Gayle’s record. Charles total helped Men in Maroon post a total of 258-5 which is the highest total by the West Indies in T20Is.
Kolkata Knight Riders will be on the road for their next encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 4 and will look to make the most out of the forthcoming matches to give them the best chance to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2023.