Ahead of the IPL 2022 season opener against Chennai
Super Kings on Saturday, Brendon McCullum, the head coach of Kolkata Knight
Riders (KKR), said that their newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer could become
a ‘superstar of the game’.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Possible XI of Chennai Super Kings

CSK and KKR will meet for the season-opening encounter
at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. While CSK are the defending
champions, KKR are the last season’s runners-up.

“Really excited. I have admired Shreyas from far.
I have met him when he was playing for Delhi Capitals and I was playing for
Gujarat Lions. We exchanged numbers and I gave him my number, but he never
called me? I asked him why didn’t you call me, he said I was too intimidated. I
said what? Now he is here captaining the franchise, he is a star in Indian
cricket. He is well respected throughout the world for what he has achieved. He
has the potential to be a superstar of the game,” McCullum was quoted as
saying by NDTV.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Possible XI of Kolkata Knight Riders

“He has got a nice presence and a warming
presence about him and he is certainly willing to learn. We have something in
common and that is how we want to play the game. Really excited to work with
Shreyas, he could be the franchise player for KKR for a decade,” he stated
further.

KKR had retained Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarty,
Ventakesh Iyer and Sunil Narine before the mega auction. In the auction, the
Kolkata side’s main target was finding a suitable captain. So, they went all
out for India batter Shreyas Iyer, who previously led Delhi Capitals to an IPL
playoff finish, and secured his service for a whopping Rs 12.25 crore

Also Read: IPL 2022: When and where to watch CSK vs KKR ?

“Everyone saw the style of cricket we played last
season, that’s how we like to see the game played. That’s how Shreyas likes to
lead and that’s how I like to coach. It is about giving the guys freedom to
take the game on. Our message is a simple one, work with your teammates, enjoy
your time, and with the bat, if you feel you are in a situation where you can
dominate, do that,” said McCullum.

Meanwhile, Tim Southee will miss KKR’s opening match,
confirmed McCullum.

Also Read: Who is Venkatesh Iyer?

“Tim Southee is not available for the first game.
There is some delay in his arrival in India so we will look at the Indian
talent.”

KKR Squad: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh
Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi,
Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba
Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma,
Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh
Yadav, Aman Khan.