IPL 2022: Losing Shubman Gill was disappointing, says KKR coach Brendon McCullum
India Today
IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum admitted that it was disappointing for the franchise to lose Shubman Gill.
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum shed light on his side's plans for the IPL 2022 mega-auction while admitting that it was disappointing to lose young and talented opener Shubman Gill.
Shubman Gill played 58 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL before the two-time champions decided not to retain the young India opener. Gill was later picked by the new IPL team, Ahmedabad, as their third draft pick for Rs 8 crore.
"I'd love to hear some suggestions from the fans: Which players do they think we should target and also, why?" - @BazmccullumRegister for #KKRMockAuction here https://t.co/vsfROhjYuZ if you haven't already!#GalaxyOfKnights #KKR #IPL pic.twitter.com/k8MOOZ1ddQ
"You need to plan as you're going to lose a lot of players. It was disappointing to lose Shubman Gill. But that's the way life is sometimes and we will be well prepared for the upcoming auction," head coach Brendon McCullum said in a live session for KKR.
Notably, Kolkata Knight Riders retained 4 players, including two overseas stars, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, spending Rs 42 crore ahead of the mega auction. Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy have also been retained by the 2-time champions.
"Sunil Narine and Andre Russell have been proven campaigners for a decade. We have all seen what Varun Chakravarthy is capable of in the last two seasons. Venkatesh Iyer was probably the story of the second half of IPL 2021," McCullum added.
"Certainly not easy to find a backup for someone like Andre Russell and that's why he is such an important re-signing. When he is at his best, he is effectively two world-class players in one. It's really challenging to find a backup for these players. That will be the topic of our conversation. If Dre Russ is out due to injury, you could need two players, a batter and a bowler, and try to balance things out accordingly," the KKR coach further said.
