‘We were paralysed by fear of coronavirus’

Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon

McCullum says they were paralysed a little bit by fear when coronavirus struck the first half of the IPL in India.

It was KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy and seamer Sandeep Warrier, who first tested positive for COVID-19 in May in the middle of the League, which was eventually postponed.

The Purple and Gold brigade led by England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan had an underwhelming first half. They are languishing at the seventh spot but McCullum is hopeful for a strong showing when action resumes from September 19 in the UAE.

"In regards to the tournament which is upcoming (second half of the IPL phase), we can end it right. We can take the game on and we're in a situation where we need things to go our way," McCullum was quoted as saying by the KKR website.

"We need to hit the ground running, challenge one another privately, support one another publicly and try and get the best out of one another in the next 4-5 weeks. Who knows where we can go with this.

"There were sometimes throughout the season when I just felt we were being paralysed a little bit by fear," he added.

The virus had wreaked havoc in India at that time, claiming thousands of lives.

The 39-year-old former New Zealand skipper, who started his IPL journey as a player with KKR, is hopeful the team will be able to get rid of the angst that had been built in the first phase of the league.

"I wasn't able to free the guys up enough to understand that and that's sort of a challenge for me. But it is also a good challenge for the guys as well that they need to push the envelope of their own thinking as well.