Christchurch: His ambition to captain New Zealand in future was the reason why Brendon McCullum agreed to forego the Indian Premier League’s financial windfall next year and sign the central contract despite not getting any compensation for it.
McCullum said he didn’t want signing for the IPL to be counted against him when the selectors sit down to pick incumbent Daniel Vettori’s successor.
“I would have hoped it wouldn’t count against me (being captain in the future if I hadn’t signed) based on the fact you have a right to sign or not to sign a contract without retribution,” McCullum told reporters.
“But yes, I want to captain New Zealand at some point in time I’d dearly love that honour. It’s an ambition of mine and I think the time will come when I’m good and ready,” he said.
McCullum and several other New Zealand cricketers signed their central contracts despite a clash between the IPL and their international commitments.
McCullum admitted that the decision to forego close to 500,000 dollars for a month’s work was not easy.
“I’m not going to lie, it was tough. The cold, hard facts are there for anyone to see,” he said.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play cricket for New Zealand but I guess the immediate financial security that sort of money can provide for your family was a factor,” he added.
McCullum, who captained the doomed Kolkata Knight Riders this season, said despite the initial unease, he is now happy with the decision he has taken.
“It was difficult knowing how much money I was turning down and I also had to think about the captaincy at Kolkata. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to turn around what happened earlier this year after our disappointing tournament.”
“I was pretty determined to be there and try and turn that around but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In the end, I feel very comfortable with the decision I made and I feel that it was the right one to make,” he said.
McCullum’s teammate all-rounder Jacob Oram also admitted that it was tough to decide on the matter.
“You can criticise us for our hesitation but we have all signed,” Oram told reporters.
“We’re not getting paid any compensation; we’re not leaving after day three of the second Test against Australia. We’ve thought about it long and hard and we want to keep playing for New Zealand. You cannot begrudge us the time to think about it and discuss with our wives, families, mentors,” he added.
Bureau Report