Cape Town, April 17 (Inditop) Sourav Ganguly has been removed as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the reins handed over to New Zealand’s dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning here Saturday.
Ganguly, who led the team in the first IPL season, and West Indies captain Chris Gayle have been given the role of senior management in the team.
It is not clear whether McCullum’s appointment is for the entire season or if he is part of John Buchanan’s idea of multiple captains.
In the wake of Buchanan’s controversial suggestion, the KKR management delayed announcing the captain till the squad reached South Africa, though its owner Shah Rukh Khan dropped enough hints about replacing McCullum with Ganguly.
McCullum has been a key player of KKR since his explosive 156 against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the opening match in the inaugural season last year in Bangalore.
Ganguly is the third captain to have lost captaincy after the first season. V.V.S. Laxman was the first to go when Deccan Chargers made Adam Gilchrist the skipper and then Rahul Dravid made way for Kevin Pietersen at Bangalore Royal Challengers.
KKR will meet Deccan Chargers in the second match of Sunday’s double-header here.
rounak