KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik promises to give it all in IPL 2020 despite all obstacles

Aware of the difficulties in the upcoming IPL 2020 in UAE, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik has promised fans that the franchise will give it all in the tournament. The wicketkeeper-batsman highlighted that KKR might not be playing at their home Eden Gardens but that is where their heart is. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav also acknowledged that it was difficult to adjust post the lockdown but cannot wait to get back to action. 

"This IPL will be different. What has happened in the world has pained us deeply and it is surely a challenge to play cricket. But we understand that when we play the game, we bring happiness to our fans. Yes, there will be a bio bubble. Yes, we haven’t played or trained extensively for the last few months. Yes, the road ahead may be full of obstacles. But we promise to give it all," PTI quoted the KKR skipper. 

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Similarly, young batsman Shubman Gill also expressed that the team is desperate to play. “I think we all are really desperate (to play) because for a long time, we were in our houses and we have only been prepping mentally. We all are really excited. I’m very excited to go out there and express myself,” the 20-year-old said.

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IPL 2020 in UAE

The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. 

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Kolkata Knight Riders Full Squad 

Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik [wk], Harry Gurney, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Praveen Tambe, Nikhil Naik

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With PTI Inputs