The skipper Dinesh Kartik is ready to take on the ownership of the Knight Riders set up and is keen to back his judgment. On the other hand, Shubman Gill is predicted to be a part of the leadership group “at least in some capacity” as said by Brandon McCullum who is a two time Head coach of the IPL winning Franchises.
There are many leaders on the pitch including Karthik who has been a potential captain of the Knight Riders from the past couple of seasons and Eoin Morgan, the captain of England white-ball Cricket team. These are considered as the frontmen of the team along with some senior players which include Pat Cummins, Andre Russell. Still, McCullum believes that the 20-year-old Gill holds the potential to lead the team in certain scenarios throughout the season.
McCullum during an interview with kkr.in also added by saying “ What a talent, and what a good guy as well” when talking about the young 20-year-old. McCullum is currently the head coach of Trinbago Knight riders at the CPL. He believes that the young lad exhibits the behaviour of a leader. He started by acknowledging that it is not necessary to have a long term experience in order to be a leader.
He further added “It is good to have a cross-section of leaders in the team. For us, Shubman Gill is one of those on whom the entire squad can lean on for some leadership across the tournament”.
In the past, Gautam Gambhir had led the KKR team to two major titles. But in 2018 Dinesh Karthik had taken over the responsibility of being the captain and took KKR till the playoffs that year whereas in 2019 they finished outside the top 4 at the No.5 position.
Speaking about Karthik McCullum Said“ It is important to break DK into different parts in order to understand him. Starting with his wicketkeeper abilities as he is up there with the very best wicketkeepers in India. Then we come across his batting and he adapts very well to this role as well. He does not carry the stardom that some other fellas do but that’s just DK’s Personality. He is a great star within the KKR Franchise. He has been at the helm for a few years now and also had some amount of success.
The team is yet to get over the line but McCullum believes that Karthik is in the prime stage of his leadership where he has got mature enough to take ownership of the KKR Team and back his Judgement. There is no short of experience or leadership in the camp of KKR with the likes of Andre Russel and Sunil Narine and not to forget Eoin Morgan and Pat Cummins in particular as they possess great advantage to the KKR side. Leaving this aside DK also got some support staff to assist him behind the scenes.
Brandon McCullum further added “ There will be a spontaneous layer of leadership around the camp and around DK as well where he will feel comfortable to get the best out of the team. I love DK as a person as he’s quite unique and intense at times which I admire. It is that we just need to provide him with some support. He has an incredible passion for cricket and his love of people is quite infectious”.
On the other hand, Morgan is one of the few players who could miss the first few matches for KKR. He will be a part of the England team for the series against Australia that is going to end just 3 days before the IPL kicks off that is September 16. It is likely that he will have to undergo quarantine as a mandatory procedure.
McCullum also praised Morgan by saying that he has been an inspiration in what he has been able to achieve in the last few years with England including the World Cup.