McCullum has no negative bone in his body, adaptability will be the key: Karthik

Brendon McCullum has "no negative bone in his body" but whether he succeeds in his new job as head coach of England Test team, to an extent, could depend on how well he adapts to coaching in red-ball cricket after managing T20 franchises, feels Dinesh Karthik. Karthik teamed up with McCullum during their stint together in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders -- McCullum and Karthik were coach and captain of the franchise respectively in the 2019 season.

The Indian wicketkeeper-batter expects McCullum to bring a positive attitude to the England Test team. "The one thing I can tell you in the enormous amounts of time I've spent with him is that there is no negative bone in his body," Karthik said on the ICC Review.

"He is somebody who wants to do everything in a positive manner." "So it's going to be very interesting when Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum meet up and figure out what's the positive way for England cricket to do things." McCullum is still an inexperienced coach in the international circuit, and Karthik believes he will have to adapt to the role. "I think there will be certain things that will be definitely new to Brendon McCullum," he said.

"There is no doubt about it. Even though he has done his coaching bit for Kolkata Knight Riders and for Trinbago Knight Riders, I think red-ball cricket is a completely different kettle of fish." The England men's team has been going through a difficult time -- they lost the Ashes 4-0 in Australia, and then suffered a series defeat in the West Indies as well, prompting Joe Root to step down as captain.

"I think McCullum wants to take this up because he sees this as a major challenge." "A team that has obviously not done really well in the last two years. A bit in the