IPL 2022: KKR appoint Shreyas Iyer as their new captain after big-money deal at auction
India Today
Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday announced Shreyas Iyer as their captain for the IPL 2022 season. The India batter was bought by KKR for a whopping sum of Rs 12.25 crore by the 2-time champions at the mega auction earlier this month.
2-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday announced Shreyas Iyer as their new captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. Iyer was bought by KKR for Rs 12.25 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction last week in Bengaluru.
Shreyas Iyer will replace Eoin Morgan who went unsold in the mega auction after not being retained by KKR. Morgan had led KKR to the IPL 2021 final but his form was a cause of concern for the 2-time champions, who will be coached by former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, say hello to the NEW SKIPPER of the #GalaxyOfKnights #ShreyasIyer @ShreyasIyer15 #IPL2022 #KKR #AmiKKR #Cricket," KKR tweeted.
?? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, say hello ?? to the NEW SKIPPER of the #GalaxyOfKnights???????? #ShreyasIyer @ShreyasIyer15 #IPL2022 #KKR #AmiKKR #Cricket pic.twitter.com/veMfzRoPp2
Iyer joins an elite list of KKR captains, including Sourav Ganguly, McCullum, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Morgan. He is the 6th man to lead the storied franchise.
Iyer, who had led Delhi Capitals to their maiden IPL final in 2020, was not retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction. The star India middle-order batter, as expected, triggered a bidding war before KKR snapped him up for a whopping sum of Rs 12.25 crore, making him the most expensive buy from the 10-man marquee list at the mega auction.
Iyer was retained by Delhi Capitals both in 2018 and 2021. He was snapped up the franchise in 2015 for Rs 2.6 crore. However, ever since the Mumbai batter's stocks have gone up. He was not able to lead Delhi in the first half of IPL 2021 due to a shoulder injury and had to stay away from captaincy as Rishabh Pant was backed by Delhi management.
