IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) appoint Brendon McCullum as their head coach

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn’t have a great time in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Dinesh Karthik-led team finished fifth on the points table and bowed out of the tournament after the defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The side lost quite a few games in the middle of the season and lost its way badly.

The franchise is now undergoing a number of changes. Jacques Kallis, the head coach of the Knights, bid adieu along with assistant coach Simon Katich. Kallis joined the team back in 2011 as a player after which he joined the coaching field. It has now been learned that KKR has appointed Brendon McCullum as their head coach. The news came to the fore via KKR’s media release.

The experienced campaigner was previously speculated to join as a batting mentor, but the rumours have now been put to rest. Apart from KKR, he has been given the same role for the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Back in 2017 and 2018, Baz was a part of the Dwayne Bravo-led team that became the first team to win the championship in consecutive years.

Brendon has been an integral part of the Knight Riders family, Venky Mysore

After getting appointed, a delighted McCullum mentioned: “It’s a great honour to take on this responsibility. The Knight Riders franchises in IPL and CPL have become iconic and have set the standard in franchise cricket. We have both fantastic squads in both IPL and CPL and I along with the support staff will be looking to build on the successes both franchises have enjoyed.”

Venky Mysore, the CEO of the Knights welcomed McCullum back in the Knights setup. “Brendon has been an integral part of the Knight Riders family for a long time. His leadership qualities, honesty, positive and aggressive style, combined with his natural ability to bring the best out of the teams he has been part of makes him ideally suited to lead KKR and TKR as Head Coach,” he stated.

Recently, McCullum retired from all forms of cricket after representing the Toronto Nationals in the second edition of the Global T20 Canada. McCullum has fond memories with KKR as playing for them back in 2008 in Bangalore, he scored a blistering 158 in the inaugural match of the IPL against the RCB.

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