Robin Uthappa confident of taking up the KKR captaincy role if needed

While the IPL 2018 auction was certainly a success story, it also witnessed a number of surprising permutations between the players and the franchises. CSK veteran Ravi Ashwin joined Punjab, while Harbhajan Singh who has donned the Mumbai Indians outfit for all 10 years of IPL filled in Ashwin’s void.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with its 19-man pool, has the smallest bench strength this season. The two-time champions KKR decided to let go of Gautam Gambhir who skippered the side since 2012 and guided them to both the title wins.  In his absence, KKR now has three core batsmen in Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, and Chris Lynn.

Despite interest from many franchises, wicket-keeper batsman Robin Uthappa was retained by the franchise and the gloveman is glad to be back. KKR retained him through the Right-to-Match option for 6.4 crores in the Indian Premier League auctions earlier last month.

Uthappa has also hinted at a possible captaincy role and stated he would be ‘honoured’ if he’s bestowed with it. Speaking on the same lines, the 32-year-old said to Sportstar, “Of course, I am. I’ll be honored if the opportunity came along but it’s for the think-tank to decide — whatever role they want me to take, I’ll give my 110 percent. Adding value to my team as a cricketer is crucial to my game.”

KKR has a bright future in the coming years

Instead of going after big-shots, the franchise rather decided to invest in local talents like Ishank Jaggi and Nitish Rana. Speaking about the team management’s decision to invest on uncapped players, Uthappa feels that the young players will make a mark in the tournament.

However, two signings which garnered a lot of attention was that of India U-19 stars Shubman Gill and Nagarkot. Both the cricketer featured in India’s world cup winning squad. Shubman, 19,  struck three fifties and a hundred and was adjudged ‘Player of the tournament’ for his heroics. Born just before the turn of the millennium, the 19-year-old Gill is one of the brightest prospects of Indian cricket and his performance serves as a testament to that. Robin Uthappa too shared the same notion and feels KKR has a bright future in the coming years.