Brendon McCullum, the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, is elated with the return of Pat Cummins as he believes the Australian Test skipper would bring an element of leadership for captain Shreyas Iyer in the ongoing IPL season.

“Pretty delighted to get Pat back. He’s going to add another layer of leadership in and around our skipper Shreyas, who has been impressive as well. We have got a few selection headaches actually. We have more guys to pick from than not, which is a good problem to have and hopefully we get them right," McCullum told Kolkata Knight Riders’ official website.

“He’s one of those guys who blends so well in this environment and is a wonderful human being. Huss (David Hussey, mentor) was adamant he wanted some Australians, I was, obviously, a bit hesitant about too many Australians (laughs) but Pat’s an absolute beauty, a wonderful cricketer, and a strong leader as well," he added.

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Cummin’s inclusion in the squad will add depth to the bowling line-up, which has already looked dangerous. KKR will be playing against the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday (April 6) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

Despite the fact that the Mumbai team has lost two games in a row (the season opener against Delhi Capitals and the other one against the Rajasthan Royals), McCullum is not taking the five-time IPL champions lightly.

“Mumbai are Mumbai! (Laughs) They know what they are doing. We are very respectful of the Mumbai Indians management, the coaching staff, and the leadership. So we know that even with a couple of losses early in this tournament, they would still remain poised under pressure. We are expecting them to play well. We expect every team that we come up against to play well and we expect us to play well as well. Hopefully, if we can be present and calm in pressure times, then hopefully it means we come out on top," the Kiwi legend said.