Brendon McCullum Favourite To Become England Coach, Set To Part Ways With Kolkata Knight Riders
May 19, 2023 at 4:27 PM
Brendon McCullum might not be present in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ dug out when the next season of Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway. The former New Zealand captain was roped in by the Kolkata-based outfit as their head coach in August 2019. Under his guidance, KKR failed to make it to the playoffs in 2020 but bounced back well in 2021. The two-time winners made it to the final in IPL 2021 where they faced defeat against Chennai Super Kings.
McCullum’s association with KKR now looks set to end. The legendary cricketer is reportedly one of the favourites to become the new head coach of England’s Test team. According to a report in English news outlet Daily Mail, “A second day of interviews on Tuesday (May 10) ended with the New Zealander becoming a strong candidate for the red-ball job rather than the white-ball role in England’s new set-up.” The report further stated that England’s new Test captain Ben Stokes wants McCullum as the head coach.
England have been struggling in the longest format of the game and they believe that addition of McCullum as the head coach could give the team some much-needed positivity. The Three Lions have managed to win just one of their last 17 Tests. England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan’s relationship with McCullum also increases the latter’s chance to become the head coach. In the previous two seasons of the IPL, Morgan led the Knight Riders with McCullum as the head coach. If McCullum goes on to accept the offer from England, he will have to resign as the head coach of KKR.
KKR’s poor performance in IPL 2022:
Talking about KKR’s performance in the ongoing season of the IPL, the two-time winners have struggled for consistency. They are currently languishing at the seventh spot in the points table. In 12 games so far, KKR have managed to win only 5. The Shreyas Iyer-led side is still not out of the playoffs race but their chances of progressing ahead are very slim. Even if they win their remaining two games, they will need other results to go their way in order to make it to the playoffs.