KKR players begin quarantine ahead of IPL 2021 training camp
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have started checking-in for a week-long quarantine before their training camp for IPL 2021 begins. The franchise took to social media to share pictures of some of the players arriving at the team hotel.
The likes of former captain Dinesh Karthik, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, batsman Rahul Tripathi and pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti appear to be amongst the first to have arrived.
The KKR Instagram handle shared the excitement with fans and revealed that the team's training camp is just around the corner.
"IT'S QUARANTIME and the #Knights are checking in for the season! The beginning of the camp is just around the corner...#KKR #HaiTaiyaar #IPL2021," read the caption of KKR's official IG post.
Important season ahead for former KKR captain Dinesh Karthik
KKR's former skipper Dinesh Karthik recently shared his aspirations of playing the next two T20 World Cups for Team India. However, that dream looks far-fetched at the moment and the wicketkeeper-batsman needs to play out of his skin if he is to stand a chance of selection.
Dinesh Karthik was in good form in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he scored 183 runs in six innings at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 158.
However, this performance wouldn't be enough to find him a place in the Indian team, especially after his performance in IPL 2020. The 35-year-old managed to muster just 169 runs in 14 matches last season. Moreover, with competition in the national scene from the likes of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik needs to have an extremely good season for KKR this year.
Meanwhile, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan is expected to join the camp in a week's time. He is currently on national duty and will play a three-match ODI series against India that will conclude on March 28.
Like the other players, Morgan will not need to undergo another quarantine after he joins the KKR squad. Since he is already a part of the bio-bubble in the ongoing series against India, the BCCI SOPs and protocols for IPL 2021 allow a bubble to bubble transfer.