Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das has to wait longer for his second match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) chose not to pick him despite their run of defeats.
KKR, who have won just two out of their seven matches in the league so far, lost the toss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday and were asked to bat first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Liton made his debut for KKR on 20 April against Delhi Capitals. But the opener couldn’t light the scene on fire in his debut, getting dismissed for a run-a-ball four before making two errors behind the wickets.
Liton got dropped from the XI in KKR’s next match as they brought in fast-bowling all-rounder Dawid Wiese in his stead.
But the change didn’t help KKR’s fortunes as they suffered a 49-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings. Wiese had a disastrous display with both ball and the bat, leaking 38 runs in three overs and scoring just the one run.
Despite that abysmal performance, Kolkata has decided to stick with Wiese, giving him another chance against RCB, something they didn’t give Liton.
Liton’s time with KKR is also running out as the batter will have to join the Bangladesh team in England early next month for the One-Day International (ODI) series against Ireland.