IPL 2021: "Will need some fresh legs in Mumbai" - Brendon McCullum hints at Sunil Nairne's inclusion for KKR's next game
Brendon McCullum has hinted at all-rounder Sunil Narine's inclusion after Kolkata Knight Riders' defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. The head coach said KKR will need some 'fresh legs' for their upcoming matches in Mumbai and Narine is in the scheme of things.
Sunil Narine is a key member of the franchise but hasn't seen any game time in IPL 2021. Speaking in the post-match press conference, Brendon McCullum revealed that Narine didn't make it to the team's eleven because of an injury.
Brendon McCullum added that Narine was also considered for the game against RCB but the management decided to go with Shakib Al Hasan.
"Sunil Narine stood on the rope before our first game which means he has had an injury where he was not 100 percent fit. He certainly comes into our calculations, he was touch and go for this game against RCB but we opted for Shakib who has been good for us and he gives us an extra bit of batting. After three games, the guys have played well, we have not got the results, we probably will need some fresh legs for slightly different wickets in Mumbai. We probably expect to make one or two changes in our next game, but overall I think, we have shown we have a good chance in this tournament if we tidy up," said Brendon McCullum.
Shakib had a particularly poor outing in KKR's 38-run defeat to RCB. The all-rounder conceded 24 runs in his 2 overs and backed it up with an insufficient 25-ball 26 in the second innings.
Sunil Narine was shuffled between opening and the middle order last year. He scored 121 from 10 games at an average of 13.44 while also contributing 5 wickets with the ball. If given the opportunity, it will be interesting to see where he will fit into KKR's already muddled batting order.
Brendon McCullum explains why Varun Chakravarthy didn't continue his spell after taking two early wickets
In a decision that drew immense criticism from former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, Varun Chakravarthy was pulled out of his spell after bowling 2 overs in the powerplay. In these 12 balls, he had dismissed Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar and was looking threatening to pick up more wickets.
Brendon McCullum reasoned that Chakravarthy was being preserved for AB de Villiers. He, however, also admitted that KKR should have persisted with the spinner in the situation.
"Yeah, look, in hindsight if we had our time again we probably would have bowled Varun Chakravarthy in the next over when Maxwell had just come out to bat. But look we were trying to save Varun's overs for AB de Villiers as well when he came to the crease. In retrospect, we should have bowled him for another over but there were many other aspects where we couldn't just tidy up which would have given us a much better chance against a confident team like RCB," said Brendon McCullum.
KKR have now lost 2 of their first three games in IPL 2021. They will play their next game against Chennai Super Kings on April 21 at the Wankhade Stadium.