THE LURE of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and its riches continues to drive a wedge between players and administrators. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have been under mounting pressure from the IPL to release Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicket-keeper, for the semi-finals and final of the tournament. And such is the draw of McCullum that it is believed that NZC have turned down an offer of $1m from IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to release him.

McCullum became an instant hit at the IPL when he made 158 not out off 73 balls for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match last month. He was one of five New Zealand players, including the captain Daniel Vettori, who arrived late for the start of this tour to England because of their involvement in the IPL.

So NZC are reluctant to let McCullum take another break from the tour to fill his boots in India even though the scheduling makes it a legitimate possibility. McCullum would miss only a three-day match against Northamptonshire if he returned to India for the semi-finals and final of the IPL, scheduled from May 30-June 1.

“I’d leave it up to John [Bracewell, the coach] but it seems unlikely,” Justin Vaughan, NZC chief executive, said. “If it was between the Tests and the one-day series perhaps.”

New Zealand are already without their finest bowler Shane Bond, who is banned from playing for his country because he has appeared in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL). The England and Wales Cricket Board tried to ban certain overseas players, who had appeared in the ICL, from county cricket but the bans were overturned after a legal challenge. Yet Bond, who has been allowed to play for Hampshire this season, remains barred from representing New Zealand, who are under severe financial and political pressure from India.

At the recent meeting of the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, Bond’s ban was discussed. It was widely agreed that the player has been badly treated and having quality players excluded from international cricket was detrimental to the game’s general health and well-being but the MCC stopped short of going public with their disapproval.

England have concerns about Kevin Pietersen and Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire captain who missed the start of the season to play for Shane Warne’s team, the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Mascarenhas now wants to miss more county matches to return to India for the IPL semi-finals and final and is awaiting approval from Hampshire.

John Stern is the editor of the Wisden Cricketer

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