Brendon McCullum wants his boys to play a "braver style" of cricket in the coming few weeks and make it count with the brand of cricket KKR has been known for.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum admitted that the franchise was being ‘paralysed a little bit by fear’ during the opening matches of IPL 2021. The Kolkata-based franchise pulled off just two triumphs in the seven matches played so far. They are currently on the seventh spot in the table of eight, putting the team in a spot of bother. However, McCullum is optimistic that the two-time champions “can end it right”.
“In regards to the tournament which is upcoming [the second part of IPL 2021], we can end it right. We can take the game on and we’re in a situation where we need things to go our way. We need to hit the ground running, challenge one another privately, support one another publicly and try and get the best out of one another in the next four-five weeks. Who knows where we can go with this,” said the KKR head coach in an interaction with kkr.in.
“There were sometimes throughout the season 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. But it is also a good challenge for the guys as well that they need to push the envelope of their own thinking as well. Hopefully we will be able to strip away a bit of the angst which had built up in the first part of the season, just go out there and try and enjoy ourselves. That’s the ambition that I have got for the franchise and hence why I am unapologetic and unrelenting in my belief that we need to play a braver style of play,” added McCullum.
“When we left India [in May], I think everyone understood me as a coach on how I want our team to play. I am unapologetic about that as well because my job is to try and build something at KKR that is going to last far longer than I am going to last for the franchise,” he concluded.
Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy who was recently selected in the national squad for the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup, believes that playing in the second half of IPL 2021 will be beneficial in getting used to local conditions.
“My wife was really happy. We had a nice dinner after that (the news). I also spoke to my parents and they were all happy. It was all a small celebration. The bigger duty is in front of us. So, keeping that in mind, I am not celebrating too much now itself,” said the talented cricketer.
“I would like to thank Abhishek Nayar for having faith in me and picking me up for KKR. Dinesh Karthik has a big role too for whatever I am today. After 2019 IPL, I was carrying an injury and I couldn’t play any domestic cricket. But KKR still had faith in me and picked me. Whenever I had free time, I used to go to Mumbai and practise in the KKR Academy, which definitely helped me a lot. All my practice in the last two-three years have happened at KKR Academy. So whatever little I have improved is because of that and I would like to thank Abhishek Nayar for being a great mentor,” added Varun.
