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Picture Credit: Kolkata Knight Riders

The first centurion of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2020 edition. In his debut stint, the team finished at the fifth position and fell short to qualify for the Playoffs.

In the subsequent edition, they were dismal with their performances in the first half but made a terrific turnaround in the latter half and finished as the runner-up. Much credit has been given to the former Kiwi player for sparking the confidence of the players, which helped them to do well.

Come to this edition, KKR started well but lost their way in the middle and lost their chance to seal the playoffs spot. After the completion of the last league fixture of the team, McCullum big goodbye to all the members and gave a speech as well. It is evident that he has been appointed as the red-ball coach of the England Test team and will not be able to continue his stint in the IPL.

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On Knights TV, McCullum thanked CEO Venky Mysore for supporting him well in the last three years. He added that along with good times, the tough times have been a steep learning curve for him.

"It was three years ago when Venky took a chance on me as a coach and since then it's been a pretty steep learning curve and I have enjoyed every moment of it, even the tough times have been great learning opportunities as well. So, big thank you to Venky, Jay [Mehta], and Shah Rukh [Khan] as well for all their support," said McCullum, England's new red-ball head coach.

"I know seasons don't always pan out how you want them to pan out. But I just love all the efforts that you guys put in.

“My style of coaching, as you know, is not necessarily about cricket. It's more about life and about relationships and about trying to give you guys confidence and to be able to take away some of the pressures and anxieties in the game. I feel you guys have trusted me to be able to help you out. So, thank you for that,” the former Kiwi captain added.

McCullum passed on the message that he will be available for assistance for any player and will follow the franchise’s progress. In the end, he wished the best to the captain Shreyas Iyer for doing well for KKR in the coming years.

"Well, it's not always easy when coaches come and go. But whatever happens, my number is available as well. Feel free to give me a call at any stage and I'll keep following all your careers and certainly the franchise in particular. I'll be following from afar as well,” 40-year added.

"And skipper, it's your franchise to run as well, so all the very best," he concluded.