England coach Brendon McCullum says days of players prioritizing international cricket are soon to be over

England's Test team coach and former Kiwi cricketer Brendon McCullum opined it would be naive to think that the players would turn down lucrative T20 deals for international cricket.

McCullum, while speaking to Senz Radio, said that the game is going in a different direction and there's been a shifting of sand in recent times around international cricket.

"In the end, the game is going in a different direction. The last few years, there's been a shifting of the sand somewhat around international cricket and we'd be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on long-term contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket. Those days are fast approaching to be over," said England's red-ball coach.

Notably, McCullum himself is known for his exploits in the shortest format of the game. The most vivid memory of McCullum taking T20 to its pinnacle would have to be the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). McCullum, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders, smashed a belligerent 158 not out of just 72 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore to kickstart the league.

With time and success, many countries have come up with their own T20 leagues to mirror IPL, but none has come close to the aura the Indian version has - be it about the price or the standard.

Players all around the world have also been keen to get a deal in the IPL as the league franchises monitor the players in every country to boost their talents. Some of the most famous T20 leagues around the world are Big Bash League (in Australia), Caribbean Premier League (in West Indian countries), and Pakistan Super League (in Pakistan).

Many players have come up through these leagues in the IPL and have established themselves as a force to reckon with, such as Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell and more.