IPL 2022: Rinku Singh impresses Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum with his 'hardwork'

KKR couldn't give Brendon McCullum the perfect farewell as the coach is all set to fly to England to start his journey as the red-ball coach of the England men's cricket team.

Brendon McCullum backs Rinku Singh. (Image: Twitter/IPL)
By Shurti Banerjee | May 19, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Kolkata Knight Riders have failed to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2022 as they lost a last-ball thriller to Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL 2022 match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday (May 18). However, KKR couldn’t give Brendon McCullum the perfect farewell as the coach is all set to fly to England to start his journey as the red-ball coach of the England men’s cricket team. With this, his journey of three years as KKR’s head coach will end too. Meanwhile, he stated that he was incredibly proud of the efforts of his players throughout the tournament.

“I think we’ve played some great cricket this year” – Brendon McCullum

However, KKR finished with 12 points in 14 league games in the 2022 edition of IPL. They were the runner-ups last year as well. “I’ve had a great time over the last few years. I think we’ve played some great cricket this year. I’ll follow this moving forward I know they are in really good hands with the support staff and Shreyas as captain so yeah, watch out for KKR next year,” Brendon McCullum said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday night.

READ MORE: IPL 2022 KKR vs LSG: Twitter reacts as Lucknow Super Giants hold nerve in nail-biting finish against Kolkata Knight Riders

Meanwhile, McCullum, who had also played for KKR as a player, lauded IPL for giving opportunities to youngsters around the world to showcase their talent as well. “I have loved it (time in IPL). It’s been 3 years now and all 3 years have been in bubbles. I’m personally thankful to all parties involved for hosting IPL in between a pandemic. It has given the fans something to hold on to. It’s just a wonderful tournament, the biggest league in the world. It gives opportunities to some incredibly good talent. And as a coach to be able to be a part of it and give some of the guys the freedom to go out there and play with a positive attitude is something I’m forever grateful for,” the former New Zealand player again said.

“I really wish them all the best” – McCullum on KKR

However, he was quite impressed with Rinku Singh’s performance. Rinku smashed a quickfire 40 off 15 balls but got out when KKR needed just 3 runs off 2 balls. The left-hander smashed four sixes and two fours in an incredible display of power-hitting as well. Apart from him, Shreyas Iyer also scored a blitzy half-century that came in 29 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes as well. Along with him, Nitish Rana smashed a 22-ball 42 with 9 boundaries also.

READ MORE: IPL 2022: Kane Williamson hails Rahul Tripathi as ‘special player’ after match-winning effort against Mumbai Indians 

“I’m heading in a different direction with the challenge of being able to coach England, but I’ll be following the KKR boys and, particularly, Rinku. I really wish them all the best. Rinku’s is an incredible story, a man around the IPL for five years. He sat on the sidelines for so long and worked so hard, he has had to wait for his opportunity, he got it late in the tournament and he’s taken it. He plays the game for all the right reasons that I love as a coach and as a fan of cricket as well. Rinku is a player who KKR will invest in, no doubt, over the next few years and we’ll see him progressing. Not too many people can bat like Rinku did and be able to pull games out of the fire. Really pleased for him,” Brendon McCullum concluded.





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