Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum on Wednesday said that he believes 20-year-old batsman Shubman Gill to be one of those players he could rely upon to give some sort of leadership responsibility in the upcoming season of Indian Premier League. The 13th edition of IPL kicks off from September 19th this year in the UAE – and McCullum says that he has a lot of faith in the youngster.
“What a talent…, he (Gill) is going to be a part of our leadership group this year as well, at least in some capacity. Even though he is young, I am a big believer that it’s not necessarily true that you having played for a long time makes you a good leader,” McCullum said in an interview on the KKR website.
“It’s about you exhibiting the behaviours of a leader. It’s always good to have a cross-section of leadership within your group. To us, Shubman is one of those guys we would look to lean on for some leadership throughout this season,” said the former New Zealand captain.
McCullum further went on to add that with the inclusion of players like Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan, KKR captain Dinesh Karthik will have a good support system with him in the upcoming season to lead the team.
“I think there’ll be a nice layer of leadership around DK where he’s able to really prosper and touch all of the members of the Kolkata line up to try and get the very best out of themselves,” McCullum said.
“I love DK as a person. He’s quite intense at times which I love, we just need to provide him with some support. His passion for the game and his love of people is just infectious.” McCullum further added.
