"A team like family" - Dinesh Karthik dedicates special message to KKR after IPL 2022 auction
Dinesh Karthik is set to ply his trade for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after being picked up by the franchise for ₹5.50 crore at the recently concluded mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).
This marks the end of Karthik's four-year journey with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), whom he captained for two and a half seasons.
The seasoned campaigner thanked the KKR team management, owners and his former teammates through his latest social media post. He wrote on Instagram:
"A team like family...thank you to each and every member of @kkriders from players to support staff and the owners to make it feel like home 💜💛."
Karthik is 11th on the list of leading run-scorers in the cash-rich league. The right-handed batter has 4,046 runs to his name in 192 innings.
It is worth mentioning that this will be the cricket star's second stint with RCB. The last time Karthik played for the Bangalore-based franchise was in 2015, when the the 36-year-old managed 141 runs from 16 matches at an average and strike rate of 12.81 and 120.51, respectively.
The Chennai Super Kings also expressed interest in signing the the keeper-batter at the auction, but they ultimately lost the bidding war to RCB.
Shreyas Iyer appointed captain of KKR for IPL 2022
The two-time champions have appointed star recruit Shreyas Iyer as their new captain for the forthcoming season of the Indian T20 extravaganza.
The franchise bagged the 27-year-old for ₹12.25 at the IPL 2022 auction.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, say hello 
to the NEW SKIPPER of the #GalaxyOfKnights 
🚨 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, say hello 👋 to the NEW SKIPPER of the #GalaxyOfKnights
অধিনায়ক #ShreyasIyer @ShreyasIyer15
#IPL2022 #KKR #AmiKKR #Cricket https://t.co/veMfzRoPp2
Reacting to the news, Iyer expressed his gratitude and mentioned that he was looking forward to captaining the side.
In a statement released by KKR, the middle-order batter said:
"I am extremely honored to have gotten the opportunity to lead a prestigious team like KKR. The IPL as a tournament brings the best players from different countries and cultures together and I look forward to leading this great group of very talented individuals."
KKR squad: Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, Aman Khan.