‘It was disappointing to lose Shubman Gill’: Coach Brendon McCullum explains why KKR released star batter

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum said he was disappointed to see the franchise lose star India batter Shubman Gill ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. Like the other franchises, KKR too had a tough time in finalising their four retentions ahead of the mega auction.

The two-time champions decided to keep West Indies all-rounders Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy and young Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer while letting go of Gill. Gill was once touted as one of the future leaders of KKR but had to be released by the franchise.

Gill was picked up by the Ahmedabad IPL franchise as one of their three picks from the players draft ahead of the auction. The young Indian batter has joined the Ahmedabad franchise for a whopping sum of Rs 8 crore (INR 80 million). McCullum said it was disappointing to lose Gill but they have their plans heading into the mega auction.

“You need to plan as you’re going to lose a lot of players. It was disappointing to lose Shubman Gill. But that’s the way life is sometimes and we will be well prepared for the upcoming auction,” said the KKR head coach in a live session on the franchise’s social media handles.

McCullum also talked about the four players retained by the franchise and explained why KKR decided to keep them while letting go of the others. 

“Sunil Narine and Andre Russell have been proven campaigners for a decade. We have all seen what Varun Chakravarthy is capable of in the last two seasons. Venkatesh Iyer was probably the story of the second half of IPL 2021,” said the KKR head coach.

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KKR now have Rs 48 crore (INR 480 million) remaining in their purse heading into the mega auction next month and their focus will be on finding replacements for the likes of Russell and Narine in case of injuries to the star all-rounders. KKR will also be looking to build a strong squad that can take them over the finishing line after losing in the final lats year.

“Certainly not easy to find a backup for someone like Andre Russell and that’s why he is such an important re-signing. When he is at his best, he is effectively two world-class players in one. It’s really challenging to find a backup for these players. That will be the topic of our conversation. If Dre Russ is out due to injury, you could need two players, a batter and a bowler, and try to balance things out accordingly,” McCullum added.