IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders bids farewell to head coach Brendon McCullum

Kolkata: As Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bid farewell to head coach Brendon McCullum, several players from the franchise paid a heart-warming tribute.

The KKR team management shared a video on Twitter wherein McCullum can be seen giving a speech and thanking all who trusted and supported him. KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer reserved warm words for the Knight Riders outgoing head coach and said: "Baz, I have had a superb journey with you. It was really good to talk to you and when you spoke about the team, what we are going to decide for the future of this team.... I wish you all the best for your future endeavours."

Wednesday's narrow two-run loss against the Lucknow Super Giants ended the Knight Riders' play-off chances but was a fitting reiteration of their never-say-die attitude with Rinku Singh's 15-ball rearguard knock with the side's backs to the wall.

The game also marked McCullum's last game as the head coach of the side, bringing an end to his three-year association with the franchise. He oversaw the team's turnaround from winning two games from the first seven games last season to winning the next five to eventually finish as the runners-up.

"It was three years ago when Venky took a chance on me as a coach and since then it's been a pretty steep learning curve. I have enjoyed every moment of it even the tough times have been great learning opportunities as well. So, big thank you to Venky, Jay Mehta and Shah Rukh Khan for all their support," said McCullum, who will now take over as England's new red-ball head coach.

"I know seasons don't always pan out how you want them to pan out. But I just love all the efforts that you guys put in. My style of coaching, as you know, is not necessarily about cricket. It's more about life and about relationships and about trying to give you guys confidence and to be able to take away some of the pressures and anxieties in the game. I feel you guys have trusted me to able to help you out. So, thank you for that," he said. (UNI)