KKR New Captain: Shreyas Iyer to miss start of IPL, Tim Southee, Russell, Narine in race to become temporary Kolkata Knight Riders skipper

KKR New Captain: Shreyas Iyer Injury Update – KKR Captain Shreyas Iyer is all set to miss the first few weeks of the upcoming IPL 2023. Shreyas had a relapse of his back injury ruling him out of the IND vs AUS ODI series and the IPL. Iyer could miss most of April as he continues rehabilitation and could miss more should he undergo surgery. His absence puts KKR in a lurch, as they hunt for a temporary skipper to kick off their season. Among current options, Tim Southee, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell prop up as options. Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN

Also Read: IPL 2023: Mohammed Shami, Siraj to get Dukes ball for WTC Final practice during IPL, Rohit Sharma confirms BCCI to monitor Test stars – Check out

KKR New Captain: Shreyas Iyer likely to miss start of IPL, Tim Southee, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine in race to become temporary Kolkata Knight Riders skipper – Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates

As per reports, Shreyas Iyer is struggling to walk such is the severity of his injury. The middle-order batsman had spent time at the NCA before the Border Gavaskar Trophy and also missed the 1st test due to the same niggle. he played in Delhi and Indore and was set to feature in Ahmedabad before his injury propped up again. He is likely to miss the start of the IPL and the earliest he could return is in May.

As things stand, KKR will have to find a new skipper to begin the season with. Shreyas was appointed captain last year but his absence leaves a gaping hole in the franchise. While he could be back for the second half of the season, KKR face at least 5-7 games without their skipper.

Tim Southee is one of the front runners to take up the mantle temporarily. Recently named NewZealand captain, the veteran pacer was also given time off the SriLanka series to join up with KKR. Southee’s experience of leading the Kiwis makes him the ideal candidate. However, given the playing the XI permutations and combinations it is difficult for KKR to play their best XI on paper with the NZ star leading them.

KKR New Captain: Shreyas Iyer likely to miss start of IPL, Tim Southee, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine in race to become temporary Kolkata Knight Riders skipper – Follow IPL 2023 LIVE Updates

Thus, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell become the next best bets given their decade-long stints at KKR. Narine captained the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, KKR’s sister franchise in the ILT20 earlier this year. However, the results were far from pleasing with the team finishing at the bottom of the table with just 1 win in 10 games.

Russell has previously led the CPL and is considered an influential figure in the KKR camp. The West Indian all-rounder is expected to feature in all games when fit and makes a good backup captaincy choice.

Among Indians, KKR have a dearth of options barring Nitish Rana. Rana has been at KKR since 2018 and has developed into one of their mainstays. Should the two-time champions be adamant on selecting an Indian skipper, Rana could very well make the cut.