Reports: KKR unlikely to retain Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav for IPL 2021
Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav will probably return to the auction pool ahead of IPL 2021. The Kolkata Knight Riders are reportedly set to release the two Indian cricket team players from their squad ahead of the mini-auction.
According to InsideSport, the Kolkata Knight Riders' team management was impressed with Varun Chakravarthy's performance in IPL 2020. The Knight Riders have the options of Chris Green, Sunil Narine, and Manimaran Siddharth in their spin attack, which is why the management plans to release Kuldeep Yadav.
If they do let go of Kuldeep, the Knight Riders will gain ₹5.8 Crore in their auction purse.
A source close to the franchise informed InsideSport that the team management wished to use Nikhil Naik and Tom Banton as their wicket-keepers for the upcoming season. That indirectly suggests Dinesh Karthik is set to be released.
“KKR already has Tom Banton, talented Nikhil Naik as wicket-keeping options in the squad. Team may continue with them and will let go off other options”, said the source.
It is pertinent to note the Kolkata Knight Riders bought Dinesh Karthik in the IPL 2018 Mega Auction. Before the 11th IPL season, the franchise elected Karthik as their captain. However, during IPL 2020, Dinesh handed over the captaincy to his English teammate Eoin Morgan.
How did Dinesh Karthik and Kuldeep Yadav perform in IPL 2020?
Dinesh Karthik struggled with the bat in IPL 2020. He played in all 14 league matches of the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 169 runs. His highest score was 58, but his batting average in the tournament was 14.08.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav got a place in the playing XI in only five matches. The left-arm wrist-spinner scalped one wicket in those five fixtures at an economy rate of 7.66. As Varun Chakravarthy regularly troubled the opposition sides with his wicket-taking abilities, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management chose to bench Yadav.