Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum has revealed that they were “paralysed by fear” due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hitting India during the first phase of the IPL.
KKR spinner Varun Chakravarty and seamer Sandeep Warrier tested positive for COVID-19 in May during the league phase, which was eventually postponed to September.
The Purple and Gold brigade, led by England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan had a disappointing first half of the tournament and are languishing at the seventh position but McCullum is hopeful for this season when it resumes again from the 19th of September in the UAE.
Mccullum said, to the KKR website, that the team can end it right and have to take the game on as they are in a situation where they need things to go their way. He added that they need to hit the ground running and need to challenge themselves privately and support each other publicly so that their performances can be better for the next month and continued by saying that he felt the team was paralysed by fear during the first half of the season.
The 39-year-old former captain of New Zealand said that the team needs to remove the angst that has been built inside them during the first half of the season. He said that he wasn’t able to free the guys enough which will be a challenge for him and them.
McCullum says that, in regards to his coaching style, that he wants to see a braver style of play from the team and is unapologetic about it as he wants to create something at KKR that is going to last far longer than he is going to last at the franchise.
KKR will face Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first match of this second phase on the 20th of September in Abu Dhabi.
