Xtra Time Web Desk: Kolkata Knight Riders new overseas signing Johnson Charles arrived in Kolkata on Monday. The Caribbean cricketer looked quite tired as he checked in at the team hotel. Charles, a wicketkeeper batter himself replaced Bangladesh’s Litton Das.
Charles has been a member of the World T20-winning West Indies teams in 2012 and 2016. But he has been out of favour for a long time and returned to the Caribbean team only recently.
The burly cricketer from Saint Lucia has been out of Windies set-up for six years before making a return in October last year and has played seven T20Is since. Earlier this year in March, Charles smashed 118 of 46 balls batting at No.3 in a T20I against South Africa.
Overall, the 34-year-old has represented the West Indies in 41 T20Is, scoring 971 runs.
Though this will be Charles’ first IPL stint. He has played in T20 leagues across the globe including the Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Sri Lanka Premier League and Afghanistan Premier League.
If Charles is included in the playing XI, the Knights will have to rethink on their overseas-players strategy. They have preferred playing Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the keeper-batter. One assumes England’s Jason Roy is an automatic choice, while the Knights don’t look keen to drop Andre Russell or Sunil Narine, irrespective of their form.