“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,” McCullum told the KKR website in an interview ahead of IPL 2020.
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“Dada (Sourav Ganguly) 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. Shah Rukh, in the months which followed or the days and the weeks and the months which followed, he said. ‘you'll always be with the Knight Riders’,” McCullum recalled.
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“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’,” the former New Zealand captain said.
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He added, “I find them (the entire KKR management) to be such great people, hopefully we can have success for them on the field this year and the years to follow. We're trying to play a style of cricket which is a great representation of the people of Bengal and also Shah Rukh, Jay (Mehta) and all those involved in the franchise. Hopefully, we will be able to be successful, because I think we've got the right team for it as well.”
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"I feel like I've really got the support of Shah Rukh and Jay (Mehta) and Venky (Mysore) and they've given me a real sense of confidence that I can go in there and try my stuff in my way, and work with DK (Dinesh Karthik) to carve something out which is authentic to the Knight Riders franchise," McCullum said.
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"I love being around Shah Rukh, he is so inspiring and at the same time, so fun-loving. He's always got a laugh and a joke but he's also a very intelligent man. He's got a really quirky sense of thought at times, and you know that he cares. Through this (coronavirus) pandemic, what he's done for the charities is commendable. It's one thing to give money away but it's another thing for someone of his schedule and status to sit down and put pen to paper and to think about the impact that he can make - that’s incredible. He cares about people and he puts time and effort into that," he added.
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"When they asked me to coach KKR this year, he said to me he's got a bit of time on his hands and he's going to be around a lot more so he can help us out. That, to me, is just the most amazing aspect to be able to have one of the world’s biggest megastars genuinely wanting to help us. He doesn't just own the team but he wants to help us nurture the side and be a representation of him as a person as well so we're in for a pretty cool year i think," the New Zealander said.
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In April this year, Shah Rukh had spoken about McCullum’s 158 not out in the first-ever IPL match in 2008. “It was like a dream, it was a great fillip for IPL, it was a great beginning for IPL,” Shah Rukh had said.
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KKR have landed in Abu Dhabi. IPL 2020 will be played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah from September 19 to November 10.
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