KKR coach Brendon McCullum officially appointed new England Men's Test Head Coach

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been announed as the new head coach of England men's cricket team after two days of interviews at the Lord’s. McCullum is currently serving as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 but has no coaching experience in first-class games. Earlier reports from British newspapers on Tuesday claimed that McCullum was the frontrunner to become the Test coach of England, following a series of interviews that took place earlier this week. McCullum will arrive in the UK later this month after completing his duties with KKR in IPL 2022.

"I'd like to say how pleased I am to be given this opportunity to positively contribute to England's Test cricket set-up and move the team forward into a more successful era," McCullum said while being apppointed as the new coach. 

Will Brendon McCullum quit Kolkata Knight Riders?

McCullum's first assignment will be the England vs New Zealand Test series, which begins on June 2. KKR under McCullum have been poor with their performances in the IPL 2022 so far and look likely to miss out on a place in the IPL 2022 Playoffs. McCullum might end his three-year stint as KKR’s coach after taking the England role.  

Although McCullum has essayed the coaching role only in limited-overs games so far, it can’t be denied that he was the key part of New Zealand’s leadership group alongside coach Mike Hesson, who scripted a revival in Test cricket for the Kiwi squad from 2012 to 2016. McCullum’s attacking mindset might be the perfect match for the newly appointed Test skipper Ben Stokes as well. 

What has been said so far?

ECB’s new managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, also commented on the appointment of McCullum.

"We are delighted to confirm Brendon as England Men's Test Head Coach. It has been a real privilege to get to know him and understand his views and vision for the game. I believe his appointment will be good for England's Test team.

"He has a recent history of changing cricket culture and environments for the better, and I believe he is the person to do that for England's red-ball cricket.

As reported by ESPN Cricinfo, Key led the interviews for the vacant position and also revealed that he sought opinions from England’s white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan for the same. Morgan and McCullum teamed up in 2021 and took KKR through to the IPL finals, before losing to Chennai Super Kings. Speaking in his first press conference at Lord’s, Key said, “I've spoken to Eoin about red-ball cricket as well. I asked his opinion. You want good people with good brains around you to work stuff out, so Eoin Morgan is someone I would speak to about so many different things." Meanwhile, Gary Kirsten, Simon Katich and Graham Ford are also in contention for the Test team coaching role, while Paul Collingwood is among the applicants for the limited-overs job.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)