IPL 2018: KKR CEO Venky Mysore welcomes Mitchell Johnson with a special tweet

Former Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has landed in Kolkata and has joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for this season of the IPL. He was a part of Kings XI Punjab till 2016 and was welcomed back to Mumbai Indians in 2017. He was expected to bowl in tandem with fellow Aussie Mitchell Starc. However, the latter has been ruled out of the entire 11th edition of the IPL  due to a tibial bone stress fracture in his right leg which he sustained in the ongoing Australia Tour of South Africa.

However, there is no doubt he will emerge as match-winner for the KKR, as his experience of sub-continent will certainly help him with the new ball here. On Monday (2 March), Johnson went on Twitter to share the great news with his fans, as well as, posted a picture of himself at the KKR camp on Instagram.  His post reads, “Made it to Kolkata #day1 #kkr #pool”

Made it to Kolkata ?? #day1 #kkr #pool

A post shared by Mitchell Johnson (@mitchjohnson398) on Apr 1, 2018 at 11:33pm PDT

On the other hand, franchise CEO –Venky Mysore welcomed the speedster on Twitter, “Welcome Mitch! Great to have you on the team.”

Welcome Mitch! Great to have you on the team. @KKRiders https://t.co/l5Wu8xMnEH

— Venky Mysore (@VenkyMysore) April 2, 2018

Even Mysore expressed a lot of expectations from the Aussie pacer because he has to shoulder the responsibility in Starc’s absence, “We have a very good option in Mitchell Johnson. He has played more IPLs and won two championships when he has played for teams and he is an outstanding player. He bowled well in the Big Bash, he is still fit, and bowling 145kph plus. He is an experienced campaigner, I don’t think we won’t miss him (Starc) initially but we need backup.”

Meanwhile, the mystery spinner –Sunil Narine has already joined the KKR camp on Sunday. They have now signed up Surrey fast-bowler Tom Curran as replacement of Starc. So, in all likelihood, Curran and Johnson will be bowling together as new skipper Dinesh Karthik’s team takes on Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on April 8 at Eden Garden, Kolkata.