Daily Times

LONDON: It is “completely naive” to think players will turn down lucrative long-term contracts with T20 franchises in favour of international deals, says England Test coach Brendon McCullum. Reports this week suggested England bowler Jofra Archer could be offered a 12-month contract with Mumbai Indians. That would give the Indian Premier League side control of his schedule and power to release him for England. “In the end, the game is going in a different direction,” said McCullum. Speaking to SENZ Radio in his native New Zealand, he added: “We’d be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on long-term contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket. Those days are fast approaching to be over.”

Instead, McCullum, who coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL before taking the England job last year, said boards have to be “fluid” when dealing with the issue. The top central contracts given out to England players are worth around £1m per year but all-rounder Sam Curran will earn £1.85m for eight weeks’ work at this year’s IPL. Mumbai Indians’ owners also have teams in the T20 leagues in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, where the Major League Cricket tournament begins this summer.

“It’s definitely a shifting landscape and you’ve just got to be fluid,” said McCullum. “You’ve got to work with these players, work with these leagues and try and allow players to have their cake and eat it too because you want your best players playing.” McCullum said England should focus on creating an enjoyable environment for players so that the “experiences they get in an England shirt are so great that they are prepared to continue to put the yards in even though it might not be as financially viable as some of the other leagues. We are a little bit lucky too because the amount of money that we can pay players is better than some of the other boards around the world,” he added.