When the Indian Premier League began in 2008, the tournament needed a big start and it came from the willow of a young New Zealander. Brendon Mccullum, who was 26 year old at the time, owned the night at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore as he slammed an unbeaten 158 in just 73 deliveries. McCullum hit 13 sixes and 10 boundaries in his innings that took KKR to 222/3.
The match in the end was a one sided affair as the hosts were bowled out for just 82. McCullum, who is now the head coach of the same franchise, revealed in an interview what then KKR captain Sourav Ganguly had told him.
“I was just a young kid back then, so I was so in awe of Shah Rukh Khan who was such a mega star. I was so out of my depth even just around the superstars in my cricket team, let alone the megastar who owned our cricket team! I don’t remember many reactions in detail, but what I do remember is what Sourav Ganguly said to me that night.
Dada said, ‘Your life is changed forever’, and I didn’t quite know what he meant at the time, but (in hindsight), I 100% agree with him,” McCullum told KKR’s website.
McCullum also spoke about what team owner Shah Rukh Khan told him and how this is an opportunity for him to give back to the team that gave him such a huge platform.
“Shah Rukh, in the months which followed or the days and the weeks, he said. ‘you’ll always be with the Knight Riders.’
“There were times when I was with KKR, and then I got released, but we always finished on really good terms. I was always very grateful, and thankful for the opportunity that the franchise had provided for me. So when an opportunity arose again (for the role of head coach), I thought: ‘Well, Shah Rukh did say to me ‘You’ll always be very involved with KKR’ and this, I guess, is another opportunity.’
