Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain, Brendon McCullum said that he allowed captaincy to affect his batting in the previous edition of the IPL. The Knight Riders had an abysmal second season of the tournament in which they finished last out of the eight teams after McCullum had been appointed the captain of the side. 
McCullum then relinquished his captaincy and that was taken over by Sourav Ganguly. Kolkata won their first two games of the tournament so far before losing to the Chennai Super Kings. McCullum has yet to reach India to play in the tournament, because, for one, he is looking to get a security clearance from the authorities and then, there is also a small matter of the New Zealand playing Australia in a two Test match series.
McCullum had also added that it was a challenge for him to bat and captain in the previous tournament, but he also said that it was a good learning experience. He added that the problems that had hit the Knight Riders in the previous edition were more to do with the lack of runs than anything else.
McCullum and Gayle could open the innings for the Knight Riders once both are there in the country for the tournament.