Robin Uthappa won't hesitate to take over as KKR's new skipper

Robin Uthappa won't hesitate to take over as KKR's new skipper

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BCCI

Robin Uthappa has stated that if he would be given the Kolkata Knight Riders captaincy, he would give his '110%' for the role. The wicket-keeper batsman, who was retained by the franchise for Rs. 6.4 crores, has also thanked the KKR team management for showing faith in him during the auction.

While every team decided to hold onto their purse and spent huge at the end, KKR took the risk of buying the least number of players while spending the entire fund of Rs 80 crore at the Indian Premier League auctions in Bengaluru. However, not retaining Gautam Gambhir could proveĀ to be an unwise decision as they failed to snap up a single out-and-out captain for the two-month long league. Dinesh Karthik and Uthappa are the likeliestĀ of candidates and the latter stated that he is ready to take over the role if approached.

ā€œIā€™ll be honoured if the opportunity came along but itā€™s for the think-tank to decide - whatever role they want me to take, Iā€™ll give my 110%. Adding value to my team as a cricketer is crucial to my game,ā€ UthappaĀ told Sportstar.

Uthappa drew attention from many franchises at the auction, but KKR retained him through the Right-to-Match option by spending 6.4 crores for him. However, his retention had much to do with the fact that the franchise did want to get back their core back in the team and they were partially successfulĀ as they managed to sign Chris Lynn, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, and Robin Uthappa once again.Ā 

"The initial five or six years of the IPL, I moved around a lot, so for me to find one place I could call home was important. The people back in Kolkata are absolutely fantastic, they've treated me with so much love and care. Even the team management has stood by me right from the time I joined them," Uthappa said.Ā 

The two-time IPL champions purchased youngsters like Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi and blended them with the experienced stars like Chris Lynn, Mitchell Starc, and Andre Russell. The team also has accomplished domestic batsmen like Ishant Jaggi and Nitish Rana in their line-up and Uthappa appreciated the move.

"I think we've to understand the value the Indian domestic players bring into the franchise. It is only when you give them responsibilities that you find out whether they are going to flourish as athletes or learn how to handle the pressure. What the team has done is, it has given them a chance to expose themselves to some quality international cricket and see how the boys do. I think it's great foresight. A lot of the domestic Indian batters must be gung-ho about playing in the first team and that's a great position to be in," the 32-year-old said.

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