Indian Premier League 2022: Brendon McCullum Says Indian Batter Could Become "Superstar Of The Game"

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is upon us as the tournament opener will be played on Saturday evening between the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. Ahead of the opening game, there has been some chopping and changing as CSK appointed a new captain in the form of Ravindra Jadeja after MS Dhoni stepped down. As the opening game draws closer, KKR head coach Brendon McCullum also spoke about how he feels about working with captain Shreyas Iyer.

"Really excited. I have admired Shreyas from far. I have met him when he was playing for Delhi Capitals and I was playing for Gujarat Lions. We exchanged numbers and I gave him my number, but he never called me? I asked him why didn't you call me, he said I was too intimidated. I said what? Now he is here captaining the franchise, he is a star in Indian cricket. He is well respected throughout the world for what he has achieved. He has the potential to be a superstar of the game," said McCullum while replying to an NDTV query during a virtual press conference.

"He has got a nice presence and a warming presence about him and he is certainly willing to learn. We have something in common and that is how we want to play the game. Really excited to work with Shreyas, he could be the franchise player for KKR for a decade," he stated further.

During IPL 2021, KKR had managed to reach the final but the side failed to win the title after suffering a loss against CSK in the summit clash. In the mega auction, KKR bought Shreyas for Rs 12.25 crore, and then he was appointed as the skipper.

"Everyone saw the style of cricket we played last season, that's how we like to see the game played. That's how Shreyas likes to lead and that's how I like to coach. It is about giving the guys freedom to take the game on. Our message is a simple one, work with your teammates, enjoy your time, and with the bat, if you feel you are in a situation where you can dominate, do that," said McCullum.

During the press conference, McCullum also confirmed that Southee will miss the first game for KKR. 

"Tim Southee is not available for the first game. There is some delay in his arrival in India so we will look at the Indian talent."

KKR Squad: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, Aman Khan.

Topics mentioned in this article

Kolkata Knight Riders Brendon McCullum Shreyas Iyer IPL 2022 Cricket