McCullum speaks on franchise-based T20 leagues, cricket-camaraderie, and an Aussie legend he adored
The birth of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the arrival of Brendon McCullum are two concurrent events in Cricket’s timeline, that have drawn a line below the previously occurred event in the history book, thereby indicating that a new era heralded thenceforth.
I call the events concurrent because albeit McCullum had been around since 2002, the era that dawned for him after the 158* that blew trumpets all over the inaugural IPL, has been unmatched so far in the history of the shortest format.
McCullum of today is in a league of his own – he has the most number of runs in T20 Cricket, (2140 runs from 71 matches at a staggering strike-rate of 134) with the second highest run-getter (Dilshan, 1590 runs) still quite some distance away by T20 standards.
With such outstanding achievements, McCullum is the right advocate for the shortest format, as well as for franchise-based cricket.
In a recent interview with cricket.com.au, he revealed the advantages of the domestic T20 tournaments held now in almost all the Test playing nations and called the former Aussie captain, and the highest run-getter for Australia across Tests and ODIs, Ricky Ponting, his idol.
"The IPL – financially it’s obviously great for players and that’s one of the things that everyone views is that it’s this big money-spinning tournament, and yes it is," McCullum told cricket.com.au.
"But geez I got to bat next to Ricky Ponting in my first ever game in the IPL.
"I idolised Ricky Ponting growing up and here I was at the other end to him, and leading into a game watching him train, getting alongside him, speaking to him about the game, sharing a beer with him.
"These sorts of experiences, they were never around before the IPL, and what it’s done for world cricket and the relationships it’s created," McCullum said.
The opportunity of sharing the dressing room with men you have played against, and the men you have idolised all your life, which was an improbable thing in the not so distant past, is what McCullum believes to be one of the most enthralling aspects of the T20 leagues.
"Some of my best mates are from other parts of the world, guys that I’ve played against over the years and that’s what sport is all about," McCullum said.
"Yes the competition is fierce and you desperately want to win for your country, for your team and for yourself. But the reason you get into the game is because of that camaraderie and the relationships you’re able to make and the people that you’re able to meet.
“And I’ve been fortunate enough over a long period of time to be able to meet some great people and make some great relationships so I’ll forever be indebted to this game for it,” McCullum continued.
McCullum has been one of the few cricketers alongside Chris Gayle and Kevin Pietersen, to have a global repertoire of being some of the most prized possessions to have in the lucrative T20 cricket leagues that have become a common phenomenon all across the globe.