IPL 2020: Kolkata Knight Riders announce former New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum as new head coach

Former New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum has been officially appointed as the head coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The announcement was made on Thursday with McCullum now holding dual responsibilities as coach of KKR and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). Incidentally, both teams are held by the same set of owners.

Brendon McCullum represented Kolkata Knight Riders in five IPL seasons. AFP

McCullum's appointment as coach comes a week after he announced retirement from all formats of cricket and expressing his inability to participate in the now cancelled Euro T20 League.

“McCullum has been very closely associated with the Knight Riders franchise as a player first from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2012-2013 & was part of the IPL championship squad in 2012. He was also part of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) squad in the CPL, from 2016-2018, during which TKR won back-to-back championships in 2017 & 2018,” the team said in a statement.

“It’s a great honor to take on this responsibility. The Knight Rider franchises in IPL & CPL have become iconic and have set the standard in franchise cricket. We have fantastic squads in both KKR & TKR and I along with the support staff will be looking to build on the successes both franchises have enjoyed,” McCullum said in the statement.

KKR had earlier announced that they were parting ways with former South African all rounder Jacques Kallis, as head coach, and former Australia player Simon Katich, as assistant coach.

McCullum’s association with KKR goes all the way back to the first ever match of the IPL in 2008 where he set the stage on fire with a blistering unbeaten 158 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He stayed on with KKR for five seasons while captaining them in the 2009 edition.

McCullum had retired from international cricket in 2016 but continued to play on in the various T20 leagues across the world.