Former New Zealand captain and Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum has spoken against playing the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia behind closed doors.
McCullum’s opinion matches that of Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who has also commented against playing the showpiece event without spectators.
Speaking during a podcast for Sky Cricket alongside former New Zealand batsman Ian Smith and pacer Simon Doull, McCullum said that an ICC event without spectators would call for huge financial loss.
“The ICC and world cricket need crowds to operate but India can probably sustain things commercially behind closed doors because they are going to get so many eyeballs.
“For Australia to move 16 international teams plus all of their support staff and then broadcasters, seems a bridge too far. I can’t see them playing the T20 World Cup behind closed doors,” McCullum was quoted as saying.
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Brendon McCullum hints at T20 World Cup getting postponed
Furthermore, McCullum opined that the T20 World Cup might get postponed to accommodate the 13th season of the Indian Premier League. Originally scheduled to begin on March 29, IPL 2020 has been postponed until further notice.
McCullum, 38, hoped that the upcoming three major tournaments in the IPL, T20 World Cup and ICC Women’s ODI World Cup (in February 2021) see the daylight. If the IPL manages to find the October-November window, the World Cup might shift to January and the Women’s World Cup might also face slight delay.
Having talked against playing T20 World Cup behind closed doors, McCullum supported the idea for IPL 2020 as he believes that the BCCI should be able to generate a hefty amount through the broadcaster which might not be the case during the T20 World Cup.
“I think the IPL will try and target that October window and the T20 World Cup will get pushed back. That may mean the Women’s World Cup gets pushed back but hopefully we get to see all three tournaments operate.
“There may be a window a bit later in the new year of 2021 [for T20 World Cup] which could then open up a window for the IPL [in October and November]. You’d have to move some overseas players for the IPL but with the broadcasters based in India, it is a lot easier to pull it all together,” McCullum said.
