Dada said 'your life is changed forever' after my 158 vs RCB, recalls Brendon McCullum

Dada said 'your life is changed forever' after my 158 vs RCB, recalls Brendon McCullum

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Brendon McCullum scored unbeaten 158 off 73 balls in the opening game of IPL.

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Brendon McCullum has recalled the time he scored 158 in just 73 balls in the opening match of IPL when Sourav Ganguly had him told him that his life will no longer be the same after the knock. He revealed that despite being released by KKR in 2014, he parted on great terms with the franchise. 

India’s win in 2007 WT20 had set up the stage for an Indian league, which resulted in the formation of the Indian Premier League in 2008. The tournament needed a big start and it came from the willow of explosive New Zealander, Brendon McCullum, who 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. In the end, the match 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, recalled that Sourav Ganguly had told him that his life will change forever after the match, which in retrospect seems true to the New Zealander. 

“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 recalled the time when team owner Shah Rukh Khan told him that he will always be a part of KKR, despite being released in 2014. He added that Shah Rukh’s words had inspired him to apply for the job of KKR’s head coach, which he eventually landed last year. 

“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’,” McCullum added. 

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