McCullum inspired TKR through 'Last Dance' documentary: Sikandar Raza
Sep 13, 2020
Tarouba [Trinidad and Tobago], September 13 : Trinbago Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Sikandar Raza has revealed that coach Brendon McCullum inspired the side through a documentary titled 'The Last Dance'.
The Last Dance had aired on Netflix a couple of months ago and it focused on how Michael Jordon inspired the Chicago Bulls to dominate the NBA.
The Trinbago Knight Riders had won its fourth CPL title earlier this week. The side dominated the whole tournament as they remained unbeaten and scripted 12 victories.
"It started with one game at a time. We won the first one. We put our focus on the second one. McCullum challenged all of us. He wanted to create a dynasty out of this TKR team by telling us that this team has a lot in common with Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls," ESPNCricinfo quoted Raza as saying.
"He showed us clips of the Last Dance. He wanted to challenge us to write some sort of history, something that hasn't been achieved before. The idea came from Baz. We all bought into this. One game led to another, and another, and we won twelve out of twelve," he added.
Raza also said that Trinbago Knight Riders are one of the best teams in T20 competitions throughout the world and he credited McCullum for defining a clear role for him.
"Among all the T20 sides I have been part of, I would most certainly rate this TKR side as the best one going around. It was exciting hitting the nets with Polly and Bravo. These guys will just tee off. I will even add Sunny [Narine] Bhai, Lendl, and Darren Bravo. These guys hit a long ball as well," Raza said.
"It was important to have that chat with Baz, to basically have an understanding of my role, what's expected and train accordingly. Once you have these chats and the role is clear, then training becomes a lot clearer. The takeaway was basically how best I can improve my game with what I have. Polly, Bravo, Lendl, and Colin Munro were great guys to talk to," he added.
Raza finished the CPL 2020 with seven wickets to his name at an average of 15.71.
