Brendan McCullum believes that his side needs to play a braver style and can end it well in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League.
KKR were reeling at the second last position on the table before the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League was halted midway. The two-time former champions have only two wins to their name out of seven games, with the second leg all set to begin from September 19 in the UAE. The head coach McCullum admitted that their poor performance was a result of players being crippled by fear and believes that they will make a strong comeback.
The Riders kicked off their campaign with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad but succumbed to four losses straight. They managed to win another against Punjab Kings before losing to Delhi Capitals. McCullum believes that the players need to challenge themselves, work as a unit to get the best out of each other in the second leg.
“There were times when I just felt we were being paralysed a little bit by fear. I wasn’t able to free the guys up enough to understand that and that’s sort of a challenge for me. And for the guys as well that they need to push the envelope of their own thinking as well.”
The Knight Riders’ batting was in shambles with inconsistent performances throughout the season. Three out of top four struggled to get going, with Shubman Gill scoring 137 runs at an abysmal average and strike rate of 19 and 118, respectively.
Nitish Rana scored 201 runs at 29 and 123, while captain Eoin Morgan could only manage 92 runs 15 average and 112 strike rate. Their struggles added immense pressure on Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell. The bowling department also looked toothless, with only Varun Chakravarthy and Pat Cummins doing well.
“Hopefully we will be able to strip away a bit of the angst which had built up, just go out there and try and enjoy ourselves. That’s the ambition that I have for the franchise and hence why I am unapologetic and unrelenting in my belief that we need to play a braver style of play,”
McCullum added.
There’s another challenge for the Knight Riders as Cummins, who added immense value to the side with the ball and bat, will be unavailable for the UAE leg.
McCullum, who took over as the head coach in 2020, failed to take the team to the playoffs in the last season. With a poor start to this season as well, there’s pressure on him to deliver in the second phase of the tournament.
The former New Zealand skipper, however, stays firm on the attacking brand of play he wants the team to mould into and leave a lasting legacy with the franchise.
