'Captain is not your peon': Former Pakistan captain slams KKR head coach after Shreyas Iyer's revelations

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer's recent revelations had sparked a massive debate on social media. In the post-match interview after KKR's win over Mumbai Indians (MI) earlier this month, Iyer revealed that KKR's CEO Venky Mysore is also involved in team selection at the franchise.

His comments soon went viral as fans and experts slammed the KKR team management for not letting the captain and coaches take control of the cricketing matters in the team. Many also felt the CEO's involvement in selection has played a role in KKR's poor show so far this season.

KKR have not enjoyed the best of campaigns in IPL 2022 as they currently lie at the sixth spot on the points table with six wins and seven losses in the tournament so far. The two-time champions have just one game remaining this season and have an outside chance of making it to the playoffs if they manage to win it.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Reacting to Iyer's revelations about KKR CEO's involvement in team selection, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed KKR head coach Brendon McCullum calling his style of cricket 'senseless'. He also asserted that McCullum should treat the skipper with respect and not like a 'peon' who is there to follow all his commands.

Also Read:Wish we had one more day: Andrew Symonds' sister 'heartbroken', leaves note on his accident site

"McCullum has some issues. He knows one way. He won't look at the pitch, the venue, what can we score, how much we need for a particular opposition. He just says play freely, score quickly. He starts senseless cricket in the garb of fearless cricket at times," Butt said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"You need to give leverage to the team. When you make someone a captain, he is allowed to make mistakes. Captain is not your peon, who will follow all your commands," he added.

Butt recalled McCullum's stint with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and revealed former New Zealandcaptain's tactics didn't work out for the franchise. Butt said McCullum insisted on playing attacking cricket irrespective of the team's situation which more often than not resulted in failure.

Also Read:MS Dhoni's CSK achieves new low after GT defeat, on cusp of finishing bottom of the table

"We saw a lot of that in Lahore Qalandars. The meaning of McCullum's fearless cricket was to keep your brains aside and just keep on hitting without looking back. If you have lost 7 out of 10 wickets with 15 overs remaining, he still wanted the team to play that attacking way," Butt recalled.

"Lahore gave a lot of chances to him but his method didn't work out. That kind of tactic can work on good pitches but it's not a remedy for all conditions. As a coach, you must plan for all conditions," he added.