IPL 2021: Brendon McCullum explains the reason for picking Tim Seifert over Shakib Al Hasan in KKR vs PBKS match

Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach Brendon McCullum has explained the rationale behind going for Tim Seifert ahead of Shakib Al Hasan in the match against Punjab Kings on Friday, October 1 in Dubai. Due to Shakib not playing, the Knights had to use Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana as the fifth bowler. Iyer even went on to bowl the final over of the match.

McCullum said that Tim Seifert’s performance in the CPL for the Trinbago Knight Riders prompted him to include the right-hander as a middle-order batter. However, McCullum didn’t rule out Shakib’s selection and said that the Bangladesh all-rounder brings in a lot of utility, both with bat and ball. The Magura-born Shakib is yet to get a game in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

We just felt like we need to strengthen that middle-order, says Brendon McCullum

“Shakib’s certainly available as well, we’ve got a lot of squad options. And you make calls when you are a coach, which you sort of got to go on a little bit of gut feel at times as well. Tim Seifert has been exceptional for TKR in the CPL, and he did well in the middle-order.

“We just felt like we need to strengthen that middle-order. And because we got off to a good start, it meant we shuffled Tim down a little bit and behind Morgan and Karthik,” McCullum said in the post-match press conference.

“Shakib’s always in the mix when you talk selection, because his skillsets – ability to bowl left-arm orthodox and also his batting, probably send him a bit more in the top 3 as a batter. But that certainly doesn’t mean he can’t slot in somewhere as well, so he’ll be in the mix for the game for sure when it comes to discussions on selection,” he added.

In the CPL, McCullum was Seifert’s head coach in TKR and the latter had impressed one and all. He scored a quickfire 16-ball 40 against the Saint Lucia Kings and followed it up with a 25-ball 37 against the same opponent. Thereafter, he notched an unbeaten eight-ball 24 against the Jamaica Tallawahs at the Warner Park.