KKR skipper McCullum turns to his New Zealand coach Moles for help
KKR skipper McCullum turns to his New Zealand coach Moles for helpIt is hard to believe that he is the same batsman who gave the Indian Premier League such a rousing start last year. Brendon McCullum set the tone for the inaugural tournament with a swashbuckling century against Royal Challengers.
But, it can be a strange, cruel game. This time as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, he is not able to put bat to ball. He is easily the player under most pressure in the IPL.u00a0
In these trying times, the big positive aspect going for him is the presence of his New Zealand coach Andy Moles, who is an observer with KKR.
Yesterday, the two were locked in a long coaching session at one side of the Buffalo Park nets and one could sense McCullum was in a better frame of mind at the end of the chat.
"He is looking forward to this game (vs MI) because he knows he can change things around," Moles told MiD DAY.
"I told him not to examine himself too closely. Brendon is looking at all sorts of different aspects as to why things are not happening for him. Honestly, he is just one innings away from discovering his form.
"He just needs to make sure that he stays still when he is hitting the ball. We were working on that," added Moles.
McCullum has been under a lot of pressure and has even talked about stepping down from captaincy for the next season. Having worked with him closely, Moles sure understands his psyche better. "Brendon sets himself high standards and when he is not achieving it, he gets a bit down. I am trying to make sure that he is really positive about himself and come tomorrow, he plays the way we all know Brendon McCullum plays."
About the cares of captaincy affecting his game, Moles said: "I don't think so. He has enjoyed the challenge.
He does feel very disappointed and low when the team does not win because he wants to lead from the front.
He is a fellow who drives himself to be successful in anything he does and obviously he finds it difficult when the results don't go his way. He has enjoyed the captaincy and the players have enjoyed having him as captain. They are one result away from turning things around and that is the beauty of this T20 competition."
McCullum is also batting with a changed grip in this competition. Could this have affected his game a bit too?
Moles said: "Brendon looks to experiment little bit. We just spoke about the good habits."
Moles' advice to him: "Be true to yourself and keep playing your own game." If McCullum breaks his jinx today, we know who he will raise his bat to.
