IPL 2021: Brendon McCullum feels KKR can challenge many teams if the entire XI shows commitment like Rahul Tripathi

Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum heaped praise on Rahul Tripathi in a post-match dressing room talk after the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Rahul Tripathi gave his 100% on the field and took some magnificent catches versus Bangalore. McCullum felt the Knight Riders could challenge many franchises in this competition if the entire team showed the same commitment on the field as Tripathi.

"Rahul Tripathi on the field was a massive positive. And read into this what you wish, but if we have 11 Rahul Tripathi attitudes and commitment on the field there, then we will challenge a lot of teams," said Brendon McCullum.

The Kolkata Knight Riders beat SRH by ten runs to make a winning start to the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. However, they have been on a 2-match losing streak since then after suffering defeats to MI and RCB in their next two outings.

"I thought our batting approach was really good" - Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum played multiple IPL seasons for the Kolkata Knight Riders during his active days as a cricketer

The Royal Challengers Bangalore set a 205-run target for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their last match of IPL 2021. The Knight Riders only managed to score 166/8 in their 20 overs.

Although they fell short by 38 runs, Brendon McCullum believed the batters did a good job in the middle. He felt KKR could have won the game if there had been some bigger partnerships against RCB.

"Boys, some really good stuff today. Some really good stuff, particularly with the bat in hand. I thought our batting approach was really good. We were chasing a few too many runs, but our batting was pretty good. The guys committed to the plan, they committed to the task which was quite great. And they played the game that could have got us across the line with a couple of good partnerships or if a few other things had gone well. So those were a few positives," Brendon McCullum added.

.@tripathirahul52 in the field yesterday: IMMENSE 🔥#RCBvKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/sUVDPFaTrq

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 19, 2021