Brendon McCullum: 'We were being paralysed a little bit by fear' at the start of IPL 2021

“I am unapologetic and unrelenting in my belief that we need to play a braver style of play”

“In regards to the tournament which is upcoming [the second part of IPL 2021], we can end it right,” McCullum told kkr.in. “We can take the game on and we’re in a situation where we need things to go our way. We need to hit the ground running, challenge one another privately, support one another publicly and try and get the best out of one another in the next four-five weeks. Who knows where we can go with this.”

The Knight Riders began their campaign with a ten-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, but then lost four games in a row before bouncing back with a dominant five-wicket win over Punjab Kings, before losing one more, to Delhi Capitals.

“Hopefully we will be able to strip away a bit of the angst which had built up in the first part of the season, just go out there and try and enjoy ourselves”

Brendon McCullum

“There were sometimes throughout the season when I just felt we were being paralysed a little bit by fear,” McCullum said. “I wasn’t able to free the guys up enough to understand that and that’s sort of a challenge for me. But it is also a good challenge for the guys as well that they need to push the envelope of their own thinking as well.

“Hopefully we will be able to strip away a bit of the angst which had built up in the first part of the season, just go out there and try and enjoy ourselves. That’s the ambition that I have got for the franchise and hence why I am unapologetic and unrelenting in my belief that we need to play a braver style of play.”

As far as McCullum is concerned, though, his focus is on the bigger picture. “When we left India [in May], I think everyone understood me as a coach on how I want our team to play,” McCullum said. “I am unapologetic about that as well because my job is to try and build something at KKR that is going to last far longer than I am going to last for the franchise.”