Brendon McCullum roped in as KKR head coach: Details here
What's the story
Former New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Brendon McCullum on Thursday was roped in as the head coach of the IPL franchise. Notably, he is also the head coach of Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League owned by the same group. McCullum would be replacing Jacques Kallis, who stepped down from the role a few months back. Here's more.
McCullum honored
McCullum honored to have the role
Following his appointment as the KKR head coach, McCullum said that he was truly honored to take up the responsibility. He also hailed both the franchises as iconic. "We have fantastic squads in both KKR and TKR and I, along with the support staff will be looking to build on the success both franchises have enjoyed," quoted McCullum.
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McCullum ideal candidate to replace Kallis, feels Mysore
"His leadership qualities, honesty, positive and aggressive style, combined with his natural ability to bring the best out of the teams he has been a part of makes him ideally suited to lead both KKR and TKR as a head coach," said CEO Venky Mysore.
KKR association
McCullum has a rich association with KKR
McCullum's association with KKR goes way back to 2008, when he smashed an unbeaten 158 in the opening game of the inaugural IPL, which was the highest individual T20 score back then. He has played for the franchise for a total of five seasons. He retired from the IPL following the 2018 season, during which he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Information
McCullum retired as freelance T20 cricket this year
McCullum was scheduled to take part in the inaugural Euro Slam T20 from August 30. However, with the event being canceled now, he has also decided to announce his retirement as a freelance T20 cricketer to focus on his coaching stint with KKR and TKR.
Author's take
McCullum faces tough task to strengthen KKR's batting department
As McCullum prepares for his coaching stint with TKR in CPL this year, following it he would have an even tougher task to strengthen the batting department of KKR, come next season. KKR's batting was relatively shaky in the IPL 2018, with most of the batting relying on the top-order and the monumental Andre Russell.