Morgan appointed new Kolkata Knight Riders captain

England's World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan has been handed over the captaincy of IPL outfit Kolkata Knight Riders.

In a surprising move, Dinesh Karthik decided to focus on his game more and hand over the captaincy to Morgan for the 2020 edition of the tournament.

Karthik made the decision "with a view to focus on his batting and contributing more to the team's cause", according to a statement released by KKR on Friday.

Venky Mysore, the KKR CEO said in a statement: "We are fortunate to have leaders such as DK, who has always put the team first. It takes a lot of courage for someone like him to take a decision such as this. While we were surprised by his decision, we are respectful of his wishes.

We are also fortunate that Eoin Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, who has been the vice-captain, is willing to lead the side going forward. DK and Eoin have worked brilliantly together during this tournament, and although Eoin takes over as captain, this is effectively a role swap, and we expect that this transition will work in a seamless manner."

Karthik's role as captain had come under scrutiny last year when West Indian Andre Russell said there was difference of opinion with the captain.

KKR finished No.5 on the table last year, outside of the playoffs berths, after finishing on 12 points. However, so far in IPL 2020, they have fared relatively better, with eight points from seven games, and are currently occupying the No.4 spot on the table.

Karthik's form is another matter altogether. In the seven innings he has played in the tournament so far, there are four single-digit scores. Scores of 12, 30 and 58 in the remaining matches had hardly inspired.