Karthik and Kolkata - A new beginning

Kolkata Knight Riders' team management has always prided itself on innovations, a few even at the cost of emotions. When KKR parted ways with their icon player, Sourav Ganguly in 2011, there was a fan club that publicly opposed the decision during the home games. But it took very little time for the new leader Gautam Gambhir to win the city's love. A finish in the top four, followed by a maiden title victory in 2012 and one more in 2014 helped win the battle between emotions and pragmatism. But, earlier this year when Gambhir and KKR ended ties, a similar scenario threatened to challenge the loyalties, once again.

At the end of the players' mega auction this January, there were very few franchises without a straightforward choice for the role of captaincy, and KKR was one of them. Robin Uthappa was probably the front-runner for the role, given his experience in the unit and understanding of the franchise's culture. However, the franchise chose Karthik for the job, precisely two weeks before their decision gained mass acceptance. Karthik has been around in the Indian cricketing scenes for almost a decade and a half, with a lot of unfulfilled promise. But in the past two years, his career has seen an incredible spike with his List A average shooting up to 57.85 since the 2015/16 season, and the T20 average climbing up to 38.36 with a strike-rate of 150 since the start of the 2017 season. However, the true validation only arrived when he pulled India out of a rut to hand an outstanding victory in a nerve-jangling Nidahas Trophy final. Tweets started flooding in from the KKR players and bigwigs too, celebrating the arrival of Karthik, and their captain.

The man himself holds this inning very close to his heart. "I think as a captain I will be looking to stay as calm as I can. That's a good takeaway for me from that game. It gives me a lot of confidence in my batting skills. It's important that I keep using that as an experience where I can propel to do better things in the future," Karthik told on Saturday (April 7).

The newly appointed skipper will have more questions than readily available answers going into a fresh season with a new franchise. The squad size is limited, one which Karthik admits, has its own pros and cons. Especially with a 'Handle with Care' rider on the Lynns and Russells, the limited options in the squad will make things very tricky for KKR. However, Karthik claims that the team is happy with what they have got and a smaller outfit also provides a sense of stability to the guys in the fray. "It works both ways. What happens when we have 18 or 19 players, the players who are there in the side feel stable about themselves, there are not too many changes to make. That's the positive and the negative is that we don't have too many options. So it works both ways. We have 19, and we are very happy with 19."

Barring injury concerns, there will also be the temptation to make the most of the future investments made by the thinktank in the auction. Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, are all riding high on confidence after a successful Under-19 World Cup campaign. To find a spot for even one of them in the first eleven is a question Karthik cannot escape, every time the team sits down to decide on the combination. While Gill is best suited in the top three, it remains unclear given KKR might want to gamble with Narine again. There's also very little clarity if either of Mavi or Nagarkoti will be preferred over the experience of R Vinay Kumar as the lone Indian pacer, unless they play two citing Eden's pacy conditions and a heavy weather overhead, at least on Sunday.

"They [Under-19 players] are huge prospects. We are happy to have them in the squad and in the practice matches, they did well. About them playing, we are discussing and debating still, so we are not confirmed. We are excited to have that kind of talent," Karthik mentioned.

A lot of faith has been reposed by the franchise in Karthik the leader, but at the same time, a lot of challenges are lined up too, that will test every bit of his leadership qualities. Not to forget, a highly faithful Kolkata crowd too are starting to invest its faith in a new skipper. And in this tough hour, Karthik, will hope that his 'calm' helps him sail through.

"Lot of times I am sure I will be put under the pump and I have to be able to react in a calm manner without getting too emotional about it." If he can stick to this promise, this could be the start of a new emotional connect that Karthik and Kolkata will cherish for a long time.