'Are you crazy, why would you do this?': Karthik reveals chat with Morgan after opting to step down as KKR captain
Dinesh Karthik explained that he 'was the problem' and that he received support when he decided not to continue as captain of the team.
Dinesh Karthik has revealed that stepping down as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders was not a decision someone forced him to take and that the call was his alone. Karthik, who was appointed captain of the team ahead of the 2018 edition of the IPL decided to step down from the position in the middle of IPL 2020 last year, with Eoin Morgan taking over the reins of the team.
In a conversation with sports presenter Gaurav Kapur in his podcast '22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur', Karthik explained that he 'was the problem' and that he received support when he decided not to continue as captain of the team.
"We were aware of it. I think a lot of credit should be given to KKR because they handled it very well. They understood my situation. I was the problem, nobody else. From the moment, I'm not very sure, then they're like 'fine, there's Morgan'. He (Morgan) actually was very reluctant," Karthik said.
"For him, he's captaining England, such a high-pressure thing. He wants to come and play the IPL and enjoy it. And he was thoroughly enjoying it up to the point. He was vice-captain so basically, it's about helping me."
Under Karthik, KKR finished in the knockouts of the 2018 season and followed it with a fifth-place finish. When Karthik decided to step down as captain, KKR were placed fourth on the points table with eight points after seven matches. But his personal form with the bat was worrisome as he had scored only 108 runs in those games with one half-century.
"But when I said this, he said 'no, no'. And we were high on the table too; we had played some seven games and won four. We were No. 4 or 3 on the table. He said 'are you crazy? Why would you do this? I don't understand what you're trying to do.' Then I explained things to him," Karthik said.
"Personally, what was happening and then it was something that was more about my personal issues that happened rather than it being cricket or the franchise or anything like that. So when the personal issue happened, that was the main reason and then he said, 'Ok, I'll do it.' And it was handled very well by KKR… Venky Mysore, Shahrukh."