Vaughan said that five New Zealand cricketers McCullum, captain Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder were given additional time to sign the contracts before they signed the dotted line in July.
Following reports that New Zealand vice-captain Brendon McCullum had threatened not to sign the New Zealand Cricket's (NZC's) central contract earlier this year for being able to play the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2010, NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan has clarified the NZC's stance.
"There were never any discussions along the lines of refusing his contract," Vaughan told the New Zealand Herald. "That was never a possibility and, as far as I was aware, there was never any exploration of loopholes."
Not just Brendon
Vaughan said that five New Zealand cricketers McCullum, captain Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder were given additional time to sign the contracts before they signed the dotted line in July.
"At the time, the IPL dates were yet to be confirmed and neither were the Australian tour dates, so we did not know what sort of overlap there would be. They wanted some clarity over that before signing their contracts.
We wanted players who were fully committed to New Zealand cricket so they were given extra time to sign."
Vaughan added that the players 'wilfully' signed the contracts and will miss the first half of the 2010 IPL since New Zealand will be involved in a bilateral series against Australia.
u00a0"The simple fact is they, including Brendon, all signed and that was a tremendous sign. There was no pressure from us and I don't believe there was any covert discussion between the players and the IPL either. They all wilfully signed."
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