Brendon McCullum informs KKR about his exit, set to take over as England's new Test coach - Report

Brendon McCullum has reportedly informed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that he will be stepping down as the head coach of the franchise following the conclusion of the ongoing season. McCullum has emerged as one of the favourites to take over as the new head coach of the England Test team.

As per BBC and reports in the British media, McCullum is likely to replace Chris Silverwood as the new Test coach of England and an official announcement is expected this week. Silverwood was fired by England earlier this year after their humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia in the Ashes 2021-22.

As per a report in the Indian Express, McCullum recently informed about his plans during a team meeting and revealed he will be taking over as coach of the England national team. 

“He informed us that he won’t be part of KKR going ahead as he will be taking up a job as England cricket team coach. He informed us during a team meeting a few days ago,” a KKR insider was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

McCullum, who retired from cricket all forms of cricket in 2019, had taken over as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in August 2019. He was also appointed as the head coach of Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders in the same year.

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While he has coached teams in franchise cricket, McCullum is yet to coach an international team and will begin his coaching journey in international cricket with England. Under McCullum, KKR have failed to win the IPL title. They came close last season by reaching the final in IPL 2020 but lost against CSK to miss out on the trophy.

In the ongoing IPL 2022, KKR has struggled for consistency but have managed to remain alive in the race for playoffs with five wins in 12 matches in the competition so far. KKR have an outside chance of making it to the playoffs this season if they manage to win their remaining two games by a big margin.

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McCullum, who captained New Zealand in all three formats and is regarded as one of the greatest Kiwi captains of all time, will have his first Test assignment as England coach against the Black Caps. England are scheduled to host New Zealand in a three-match Test series at home which will be the first big challenge for new captain Ben Stokes and coach McCullum.