Shubman Gill set to be a part of KKR’s leadership group: Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum, head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has announced that 20-year-old Shubman Gill, who has been a part of the franchise since 2018, will be added to the leadership group in this year’s IPL.
McCullum held the Ferozepur-born middle-order batsman in high regard, saying in an interview with kkr.in, “What a talent, and what a good guy as well. He is going to be a part of our leadership group this year as well, at least in some capacity. Even though he is young, I am a big believer that it’s not necessarily true that you having played for a long time makes you a good leader.
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“It’s about you exhibiting the behaviours of a leader. It’s always good to have a cross-section of leadership within your group. To us, Shubman is one of those guys we would look to lean on for some leadership throughout this season.”
McCullum also spoke about what skipper Dinesh Karthik brings to the team, saying, “You’ve got to break DK down a little bit into different parts to understand this. I think first and foremost, wicketkeeping. He’s up there with the very best wicketkeepers in India. Then you move on to his batting and he’s as good and as adaptable in any role.”
“He doesn’t come with perhaps, the stardom that some guys do and that’s just DK’s personality. But he’s a big star within the KKR franchise, he’s now been at the helm for a couple of years and he’s had some success.”
“The team hasn’t quite got over the line, but I think DK is in that stage in his leadership where he’s almost ready to really mature and to really take ownership of the Knight Riders set-up and back his judgement. What we tried to do throughout the auction process as well was to provide him with some strong leadership on the field.”
“We’ve obviously already got the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, but to have added Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan in particular to that leadership group, and also provide him behind the scenes with some support staff who will be able to assist DK as well. I think there’ll be a nice layer of leadership around DK where he’s able to really prosper and touch all of the members of the Kolkata line up to try and get the very best out of themselves.”
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“I love DK as a person. He’s quite intense at times which I love, we just need to provide him with some support. His passion for the game and his love of people is just infectious.”
Karthik was picked as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders after the 2018 mega auctions, replacing Gautam Gambhir, who led the franchise to two title wins in 2012 and 2014. Under Karthik, KKR made it to the playoffs in 2018, but was eventually eliminated by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They failed to make it to the top 4 last year, finishing 5th.