“All’s Not Well…”: Ex-India Player Hints Equation Between Captain Shreyas Iyer And Coach Brendon McCullum Behind Kolkata Knight Riders’ Performance

Kolkata Knight Riders made as many as five changes for their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 game against Mumbai Indians on Monday. So far, KKR have used 20 players in the IPL 2022 but are yet to get their combination right. It has reflected on their performance as well as they have been able to win only four out of their 11 games going into the clash against MI. Former Indian cricket team player Mohammad Kaif said in an interview that the equation between KKR captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Brendon McCullum did not seem right from the outside.

“KKR had players, but they couldn’t play them and made too many changes in their playing XI. These changes add to the pressure. The players feel it is difficult to play in such an environment. T20 is a format where you can’t do well under pressure. You have to play your shots. You have to take wickets. So, one cannot play well under pressure. KKR management is to blame for this situation as they have done a lot of chopping and changing,” Kaif said while speaking on Sportskeeda Cricket ahead of the MI-KKR match.

“Regarding atmosphere in the dressing room, I remember a match, most probably it was against Rajasthan Royals where Yuzi Chahal took a hat-trick.  When Iyer got out and was coming towards the dugout, he stopped for some time and talked with Brendon McCullum. It was visible quite clearly that Iyer was not happy about something. Maybe, it was the batting position of Pat Cummins. That was the starting phase of KKR’s losing run. It showed that not all was right between the captain and the coach. This is a big factor because if a player like Iyer, who quite calm and cool-headed, starts asking questions, it creates a bad atmosphere.”