Johnson Charles has joined Kolkata Knight Riders as Litton Das’s replacement for the remaining IPL 2023. Charles was a member of the West Indies team that won World Cups in 2012 & 2016. His widespread experience will add depth to their top batting order. He has served as an opener for West Indies playing in 179 fixtures & 219 T20 innings, averaging 25.47 at a strike rate of 125.72. However, he has spent six years out of the West Indies team & made a comeback in October 2022 featuring in seven T20Is. His standout knock after returning to International Cricket came back in March 2023 when he scored a century off 39 balls. This will mark Johson Charles’s first stint in the IPL who has previous stints in franchise leagues in the Caribbean, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & Afghanistan.
Liton had left the Knight Riders team earlier in May to attend to a family emergency. He just played one game for the Riders after being bought for 50 lakhs at the IPL 2022 auction held in December 2022. Litton has also been named in Bangladesh’s squad for the Ireland ODI series beginning in May’s second week. If he had stayed with the KKR team then also he would have missed three knight riders games due to his national commitments.
Johnson Charles can provide a good opening option to KKR
Coming to KKR the franchise has been struggling for consistency since the beginning of the IPL 2023. The franchise has tried six opening pairs in the nine fixtures they have played. And one every fixture their opening stand averages 21.33. Only PBKS & DC are worse than KKR whose opening stands have crossed fifty just once. Charles brought by the franchise for 50 lakhs has experience of batting in the middle order. He has smashed two tons at No 3 & 4 which may be a boon KKR. However, the franchise already has proven batters who could provide them with a stable start. Rahmanullah Gurbaz displayed a stunning performance in their last fixture against Gujarat Titans while Jason Roy performed valorously against spin attacks in his last two innings. If they manage to keep their spots in the teams then there are fewer chances that Charles feature in KKR’s Playing XI frequently. This is because Russell & Narine are KKR’s first choice overseas players & they feature in their every feature whenever they are fit to play.
KKR is currently occupying the eighth spot at the Points table. They will next face SRH on Thursday & have fixtures against Punjab Kings on 8th May, RR on 11th May, CSK on 14th May & LSG on 20th May.