Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, May 16
Shashank Manohar, re-elected the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), says that the “sport is in good health”. On the face of it, he is right. There are now 12-Test playing nations compared to just six in, say, 1980; every major country has a T20 league of its own, and they are very popular.
Manohar seems right, but sample another comment, this time from a player who just might know better. Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain, said recently: “I firmly believe that Test cricket won’t be around in time, because there’s only so many teams that can afford to play it.”
If McCullum had spoken with greater forthrightness, he would have mentioned a vital fact: He’ll be making
Rs 3.6 crore from this year’s IPL, and he can’t even dream of making this sort of money playing Test cricket for New Zealand. T20 money allowed McCullum to retire from international cricket at age 34.
