Brendon McCullum appointed by Kolkata Knight Riders as assistant coach: Reports

Brendon McCullum, who recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, is all set to make a return to the game of cricket not as a player but as a coach. According to an ESPNCricinfo report, McCullum is all set to assume the role of assistant coach in Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League. McCullum is likely to replace Simon Katich, who was assistant coach in KKR and head coach in TKR and it will be for those roles.

McCullum retired from all forms of international cricket in 2016 but continued to ply his trade in various T20 leagues across the globe. The former Black Caps skipper has played 101 Test matches for New Zealand and scored 6453 runs with a high score of 302. He featured in 260 ODIs and amassed 6083 runs with a strike rate of 96.37.

KKR had announced that they were parting ways with Jacques Kallis, their head coach, and Katich. McCullum's association with KKR goes back to the maiden season when he set the stage on fire with a blistering 158-run unbeaten knock in the first ever match of IPL. He was an integral part of the KKR squad for five seasons and also led them in the 2009 edition. The right-hand batsman had hinted at trying his hand at coaching in his retirement statement.  "The next chapter, in both media and coaching will challenge me further," he said.

In his retirement statement, McCullum said, "“It is with pride and satisfaction that I am today announcing my retirement from all cricket following the conclusion of the GT20 Canada. I now won’t be playing in the Euro T20 Slam and I sincerely thank the organisers for their support and understanding of my decision. As much as I am proud of what I have achieved in my 20-year professional career—more than I ever could have dreamt of when I first entered the game—I felt the drive to keep going, harder to maintain in recent months,” said McCullum, who was one of the commentators during last month’s ICC World Cup.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Brendon McCullum scored 158 in the first match of the IPL in 2008.
• Brendon McCullum is only New Zealand Test player to hit triple century.
• Brendon McCullum holds the record for most consecutive Tests.