Published 12:10 IST, October 22nd 2020
IPL 2020: Ajit Agarkar opines on replacing Karthik as Kolkata's skipper, calls it strange
Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar opined that it was 'very strange' for the team to replace Dinesh Karthik as their skipper after the midway mark of IPL 2020
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Following Kolkata's crumbling defeat to Bangalore on Wednesday, former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar opined that it was 'very strange move' for the team to replace Dinesh Karthik as their skipper after the tournament had crossed the halfway mark and said that it only added to the team's disruption. The Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata were defeated by Bangalore by eight wickets on Wednesday at Abu Dhabi after Virat Kohli's men managed to chase down the 85-run target with six overs to spare. Ajit Agarkar questioned the move to replace Karthik with Morgan as the team's captain, especially when Kolkata found themselves in a good position in the tournament.
'Very strange'
Speaking on Star Sports show 'Fan Week', Ajit Agarkar said that he didn't feel that it was the right move to replace Dinesh Karthik as the skipper, especially with Kolkata sitting comfortably at the fourth position of the points table in IPL 2020. The former Indian cricketer felt that the move to replace the skipper could add to the team's disruption and cited Kolkata's performance against Mumbai to explain his point. Further, Agarkar called the move to replace the captain as a 'very strange move' as the team had made plans with a certain captain through the year and that those plans were thrown under the bus by replacing the skipper in between the tournament, in addition to doing so while Kolkata were well-placed on the points table.
Bangalore rout Kolkata
Pacer Mohammed Siraj's fiery opening spell, accentuated by two rare wicket-maiden overs, set up Bangalore's dominant eight-wicket victory over Kolkata here on Wednesday. He ended with enviable figures of 4-2-8-3 and in the process emerged as the first bowler in the history of IPL to bowl two-wicket- maiden overs. After Siraj's furious display, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/15) stymied Kolkata's revival hopes as Bangalore restricted them to their second-lowest total of 84 for eight.
In reply, Bangalore completed the formalities in 13.3 overs, securing their seventh win from 10 matches and moved up a place to second in the table with 14 points. Bangalore lost their opener Aaron Finch (16) after the Powerplay overs with Lockie Ferguson striking in his first over. Devdutt Padikkal (25) was run out as Bangalore lost two wickets in the same over. But skipper Virat Kohli (18 not out) and Gurkeerat Singh (21 not out) ensured that there were no more hiccups. They sealed the win with 39 balls to spare. Bangalore had secured a massive 82-run over KKR win in the first match between the two sides.
12:10 IST, October 22nd 2020