'You will see a lot of aggressive and counter-attacking cricket'- Abhishek Nayar on McCullum

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was appointed head coach of the England Test team last week on a four-year contract.

While the decision has been met with mixed reactions considering that McCullum doesn't have experience coaching at the international or First-Class level, his colleague at Kolkata Knight Riders, former Indian international Abhishek Nayar, doesn't have such reservations.

According to Nayar, who has served as deputy to McCullum at KKR since 2019, the latter's biggest strength is his adaptability in obscure environments.

"I really don't think it's an issue because his biggest strength is adapting and understanding systems. That is what you will see with England as well," Nayar told inews.co.uk.

With a dynamic duo of McCullum and Stokes at the helm, Nayar expects England to play a 'fearless' brand of cricket in the coming days.

"With Ben Stokes and Baz at the helm, I think you will see a lot of aggressive and counter-attacking cricket. You will associate England a lot more with white-ball cricket: you will see a lot more stroke-making, a lot more positivity and people willing to take a risk," he said.

"I'm pretty sure it will be different from what it has been in the past. I mean, you can't get worse, right?" he added.

England are in desperate need of revival in the longest format of the game. The "Three Lions" have managed a solitary win in their last 17 Tests, and more than the results, the nature of the defeats has been the biggest cause for concern.

Nayar believes that McCullum will carve out a new identity for the Test team during his tenure. He also added that not only players but the support staff will get a sense of security under him.

"A sense of security and a sense of identity: I think those are the two things he will bring. You will identify England as a team that plays a certain brand of cricket and you will identify the players as one happy unit playing aggressive, positive cricket through and through. And the coach will stand by his players." he added.

McCullum will kickstart his tenure against his home country, New Zealand, at Lord's next month.