Test cricket will not survive T20 onslaught: Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum, who made a Test triple hundred against India, opines that the traditional format will not survive for a long time because of T20 invasion

Bengaluru, May 13: Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain and currently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, said Test cricket will not survive the onslaught of T20.

"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," McCullum was quoted as saying by the Cricket Monthly of ESPNCricinfo.

McCullum said he loved Test cricket and for him it was the purest form of the game, but added quickly that he is a realistic person.

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"I'm also a realist that people are turning up and watching T20 not just at games but also on TV - society's changing, isn't it? People don't have four or five days to commit to Test cricket. They might watch the first session, and the last session on day five if it's tight, but they're not going to then you strip it back a level as well and you think domestically, how can teams around the world afford to even exist?"

McCullum retired from international cricket in 2016 and currently plays in several T20 leagues around the globe such as the IPL, the BBL, the CPL, the PSL and the BPL. McCullum is the second name on the all-time run scorers' list in T20, with over 9000 runs, second only to Chris Gayle.

"Long long-term, I see a T20 franchise as owning players, and I don't see them releasing those players to play for their nation in a Test match," McCullum said.

McCullum is among the four players (Dwayne Bravo, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson apart from the Kiwi) to have appeared in all 11 seasons of the IPL.

"I don't buy that you need residual [Test match] skills to be able to transfer into T20. To me, they're played with the same instruments but they're completely separate games. I think once we do separate it even more, then the skill level of T20 cricket will go to a whole new level altogether," said McCullum.

In the on-going IPL season, McCullum has been low-key, with 127 runs from six games at a strike rate of 144.31, but he said he has enough steam left to continue for another couple of years.

"I'm invigorated by it (T20), to be honest, the way I'm hitting the ball. So I'll do that, and then I'd like to transition into some coaching stuff, because I think the IP - especially in T20 - the IP of three hundred and something games is quite valuable, and also I like the idea that I can help people," he said.