Kolkata, Dec. 19 -- Dinesh Karthik will remain the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) despite the franchise going for England's World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan in the 13th Indian Premier League (IPL)auction here on Thursday.

Morgan, who has played for KKR before, went for Rs5.25 crore to KKR who staved off stiff competition from Delhi Capitals who were also interested in the swashbuckling southpaw.

"Dinesh is definitely our captain. We wanted to get as much experienced leadership as possible and Eoin Morgan is one of the very best leaders going around currently in our game," KKR's new head coach Brendon McCullum told reporters during the first break of the auction.

"A perfect leiutenant for Dinesh Karthik and he (Morgan) will...