Two times IPL champion Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum admits that it was disappointing to lose young and talented opener Shubman Gill. Ahead of IPL 2022, BCCI adds 2 new IPL teams and decides to host a mega auction for the upcoming season.
McCullum Opens on Losing Shubman Gill
All existing 8 teams have announced their retained players list from which the 2 new IPL teams picked their players(maximum of 3 players). KKR is one of the teams to lose their young aggressive player to the new IPL teams.
KKR might released Shubman Gill in a plan to rope him back in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction but the Ahmedabad-based IPL team drafted him for Rs 8 crore.
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.
“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.
“I’d love to hear some suggestions from the fans: Which players do they think we should target and also, why?” – @Bazmccullum
Register for #KKRMockAuction here 👉 https://t.co/vsfROhjYuZ if you haven’t already!#GalaxyOfKnights #KKR #IPL pic.twitter.com/k8MOOZ1ddQ
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) January 29, 2022
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.
IPL 2022 Mega Auction is planned to host in Bangalore on February 12 and 13. Also check the live IPL 2022 Squad update!!!
