BENGALURU: Rewind to the first ever IPL match in 2008. Brendon McCullum had lit up the league with a swashbuckling 73-ball 158 while representing Kolkata Knight Riders, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Ten editions later, the venue has now become his home. Ever since that iconic knock, the Kiwi has featured in various T20 leagues all around the world, scoring runs in plenty, apart from representing four other teams in IPL.
The IPL may have evolved over the years, but one thing has remained constant: McCullum’s role with the bat. Be it for Chennai Super Kings or for Gujarat Lions, he has always played fearless cricket, smashing bowlers and laying the foundation laid for mammoth totals.
The right-hander is at his best when the field restrictions are on, and he has been asked to take the same approach by his new franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“My role is very much to get after the bowling during the first six overs and create a strike rate. We have got some of the best players the game’s ever seen coming behind me. You have got to give them momentum at the start. If you can kick on and get big runs, great. But if you can’t... then that’s your brief. You’ve got to take it to the bowling in the first six.”
Challengers have been blessed with one of the best top orders this year. McCullum, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli are proven nightmares for bowlers. With such match-winners, McCullum has the licence to go after the bowling and play without any pressure.
“That is how I like to play my cricket. It marries up nicely as well. With De Kock also, he gets after the bowling. The left-right combination is valuable. The brief is so simple that it gives you a huge clarity as to how you can prepare, how you can mentally plan your innings.”
The current Bangalore set-up is quite balanced. Besides good combinations, they have plenty of leaders and experienced heads. De Villiers, De Kock, and McCullum can provide much-needed inputs to Kohli especially during crunch situations.
“I hope he (Virat) feels confident that he knows that myself and AB and Quinton as well. He is a very astute thinker of the game. We’ll give him ideas and his prerogative is to be able to use the ones he wants to and make decisions. "
“It’s a tough job, to make the final decision. But I think it’ll work well,” added McCullum, who will want to make a huge impression in their second match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday.
ashim.sunam@newindianexpress.com