Shubman Gill will be part of Kolkata Knight Rider's leadership group, says Brendon McCullum

The Kolkata Knight Rider's coach called the 20-year-old Shubman Gill a fine talent and that the right-hander will be a part of their leadership group in some capacity, ahead of the upcoming IPL 2020

Twitter

Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach Brendon McCullum has said that the right-handed batsman Shubman Gill will be a part of the side`s leadership group in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 across three venues -- Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The tournament will be played for 53 days and for the first time, the finals will go ahead on a weekday (Tuesday).

McCullum said that he is really looking forward to working with Gill as he is a young prospect and would have plenty to offer for the side."Shubman Gill, what a talent, and what a good guy as well. He 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," the official website of KKR quoted McCullum as saying.

"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," he added.

The franchise would be led by Dinesh Karthik this season, and he would have ample support from England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan. Under Karthik, Knight Riders made the playoffs in 2018 but finished at number five in 2019.

"You`ve got to break DK down a little bit into different parts to understand this. I think first and foremost, wicketkeeping. He`s up there with the very best wicket keepers in India. Then you move on to his batting and he`s as good and as adaptable in any role," McCullum said.

"He doesn`t come with perhaps, the stardom that some guys do and that`s just DK`s personality. But he`s a big star within the KKR franchise, he`s now been at the helm for a couple of years and he`s had some success," he added. This year, both afternoon and evening matches in the IPL would be starting half-an-hour earlier than usual.