Litton Das out of IPL 2023, KKR announce West Indies big-hitter as replacement
Litton, a Bangladesh international, who made his IPL debut this year, returned home after playing just one match due to a family emergency.
Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday named Johnson Charles as a replacement for Litton Das for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Litton, a Bangladesh international, who made his IPL debut this year, returned home after playing just one match due to a family emergency in the last week of April.
“Litton Das has had to return to Bangladesh earlier today (Friday 28 April) due to an urgent family medical emergency. Our wishes go out to him and his family to make it through this difficult time,” KKR had confirmed.
In the only match that the right-handed keeper-batter played this year against the Delhi Capitals, he registered only 4 runs and had a forgettable outing behind the stumps, missing two stumping opportunities of Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav in the match that KKR lost.
Litton had joined the KKR squad in the second week of April after missing the first few games due to international commitments. His Bangladesh teammate, Shakib Al Hasan, had pulled out of the tournament earlier.
Litton's replacement, Charles – a wicketkeeper-batter – has represented West Indies in 41 T20Is, scoring 971 runs and was a part of West Indies’ 2012 and 2016 ICC World Twenty20-winning squads. Additionally, he has played 224 T20s and has over 5600 runs against his name. He joins KKR for ₹50 Lakh.
KKR will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday evening. Charles, however, won't be available for this fixture as his arrival date is yet not confirmed.
