In an unprecedented development, Dinesh Karthik on Friday (October 16) handed over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captaincy to Eoin Morgan, who led England to their maiden ODI World Cup triumph last year.

Karthik’s decision came in the wake of KKR’s embarrassing 82-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last outing.

“Dinesh Karthik has informed the KKR management that with a view to focusing on his batting and contributing more to the team’s cause, he wished to handover the captaincy to Eoin Morgan,” KKR said in a media release.

Morgan will take charge of the Knight Riders from their Friday’s clash against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi.

“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,” Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, said in a statement.

In the ongoing IPL, KKR have won 4 out of their 7 matches and occupy the fourth position in the eight-team points table.

Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are ahead of KKR at the midway stage of IPL 2020.