IPL 2022: Brendon McCullum Names Player Who Can Add “Layer Of Leadership” Around Shreyas Iyer

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum is happy to have his premier paceman Pat Cummins back in the ranks.

Cummins missed the first three matches of the season as he was part of Australia’s touring party to Pakistan, where he led the Test team to a 1-0 series victory. Shreyas Iyer has impressed many with his sharp captaincy skills this season and the head coach is impressed too. McCullum feels Cummins’ availability will bolster the leadership group.

“Pretty delighted to get Pat back,” he said. “He’s one of those guys who blends so well in this environment and is a wonderful human being.

Huss was adamant he wanted some Australians, I was, obviously, a bit hesitant about too many Australians (laughs) but Pat’s an absolute beauty, a wonderful cricketer and a strong leader as well so he’s going to add another layer of leadership in and around our skipper Shreyas, who has been impressive as well. We have got a few selection headaches actually.

We have more guys to pick from than not which is a good problem to have and hopefully we get them right,” McCullum was quoted as saying in KKR’s official website.

Kolkata Knight Riders have won two of the three matches they have played so far. They next take on Mumbai Indians, who have lost both their matches this season. McCullum though said that Mumbai Indians are a great side and they can stage a comeback anytime.

“Mumbai are Mumbai! (Laughs) They know what they are doing. We are very respectful of the Mumbai Indians management, the coaching staff and the leadership so we know that even with couple of losses early in this tournament, they would still remain poised under pressure.

We are expecting them to play well. We expect every team to play well who we come up against and we expect us to play well as well. Hopefully if we can be present and calm in pressure times then hopefully it means we come out on top,” the former New Zealand captain said.