As per reports, Brendon McCullum is one of the frontrunners to take up the vacant position of the role of the Head Coach of the Men’s England Test Team. It needs to be noted that Brendon McCullum is the current Head Coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. There could be a possibility that Bazz could operate in both roles. However, from a KKR perspective, they might prefer a fully committed candidate. The management anyways could need a change following an unconvincing campaign in IPL 2022. Therefore, Venky Mysore and co. might go for a new option in the market. In this article, we take a look at five replacement options for KKR if Brendon McCullum becomes the England Test Coach.
1) Abhishek Nayar
The former India all-rounder is currently the Assistant Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. He has been associated with the franchise for a while and it seems that he holds a good position within the management.
Moreover, Abhishek is regarded as a fine coach with a strong technical knowledge of the game. He is credited with the improvement in the form of many players in the past such as Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik. An Indian coach could be a good move for KKR and hence, they might consider Abhishek as an option.
2) Ravi Shastri
KKR is a franchise that can pull off a big signing. Ravi Shastri does not have a coaching assignment at the moment. Assuming that he might be interested to take up one, it would not be a bad idea for KKR to consider it.
KKR’s bowling coach Bharat Arun was part of Ravi Shastri’s team when the latter was the Head Coach of India. They like working together and this factor could be crucial. Ravi is from Mumbai and with Shreyas Iyer also hailing from the same city, the chemistry could also help the franchise. Hence, KKR could approach the former India cricketer.
3) Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori is one of the replacement options for KKR if Brendon McCullum becomes the England Test Coach. Although the Kiwi is infamous for his stint in the same role at Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the 2021 edition of the Hundred, Vettori had a good stint as the assistant coach of Birmingham Phoenix. At the end of the league stage, the team was at the top of the points table.
Moreover, Vettori has the experience of coaching teams in IPL and other top tournaments. Despite a poor record, Ashish Nehra is doing well in IPL 2022. Hence, if KKR can believe that the same could occur with Vettori, they might approach him.
4) James Foster
If KKR does not want to tinker much with the management, they could hire James Foster for the role. He is currently within the management at KKR and hence, the switch might not need too much time.
The Englishman has anyways operated in the same role in different tournaments. Also, appointing a not-so-popular individual for the post could be advantageous with the kind of pressure KKR is in.
5) Greg Shipperd
Greg Shipperd is also one of the replacement options for KKR if Brendon McCullum becomes the England Test Coach. He is a successful coach having led Sydney Sixers to the title in recent years. Greg has coached in IPL (Delhi Capitals) before but was unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, he has a proven track record and could come in with fresh ideas. Therefore, KKR might think of approaching the Aussie.
