KKR Coach Brendon McCullum Reveals Shubman Gill’s Batting Order Through the Season
Pic: KKR
|| CF Correspondent ||
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum on Saturday has revealed that Shubman Gill will open for them throughout the season which will give them some solidity in UAE conditions.
Gill has been tried and tested in different positions last season where he tried his best to do justice as well.
"They're (wickets) gonna be quite fresh, I think they could be quite helpful for seam bowling. If the wickets are going to be a little bit tricky early on against fast bowling, I think you want your players who have the best techniques and the best batsmanship and craft," said McCullum. "...he's (Shubman) certainly one of those guys... I see him batting at the top of the order throughout the campaign."
However, former Kiwi player has already impressed with the way Shubman Gill has been playing. And he said that he wants to give Shubman his own space and also groom the other junior players in the team too.
"I think he's got a bit of a presence about him, even at this young age, very respectful as well. I know DK (captain Dinesh Karthik) really respects him as a person as a cricket brain as well. And I think he's going to be another wonderful resource for DK both on and off the field," McCullum said.
"I want to see the most out of him is just to grow on his own time, his own space but also take those around him, who are still reasonably inexperienced and grow at the same rate that he's growing in his own career,” he shared.
"If we can do that, then the experience we can get into these guys at a young age, and pressure moments is going to be a very, very good thing for KKR this season. He's got a very big role," he concluded.
Notably, KKR started off quite well with four wins of their first five matches, but they lost six matches later on and missed the qualifiers berth by a whisker.
Meanwhile, the team was more dependent on Andre Russell. However, this time they will get the service of England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan in the middle-order.
While praising Morgan, McCullum said: "He's probably the best middle-order batsman in the shorter version, over the last couple of years. So we're very lucky to have him. His relationship with DK throughout this campaign will give us a good opportunity."
Meanwhile, Morgan had featured for KKR from 2011-2013 and he was again bought by the franchise for Rs 5.25 crore.
"If you look at his career, the last four years in particular, he's completely changed how the whole country plays cricket. He's got the ultimate success of winning the World Cup. I think now he's completely free and an incredibly dangerous player," McCullum shared.
"He was a guy who we were desperate to get batting (at the auction) in the middle order around Russell and Karthik... He provides us with a really, really strong middle-order," he concluded.
