Mumbai: Cricket fans of another generation may remember Geoff Allott as the joint-leading wicket-taker of the 1999 ODI World Cup. After retirement, the former New Zealand left-arm pacer combined his commerce and management degree and entrepreneurial skills to set up a F&B and education business in India before serving in New Zealand Cricket (NZC).
The India experience will hold him in good stead to steer NZC out of somewhat choppy waters as he serves as CEO, a job he took over in April.
Earlier this month, NZC announced a revenue deficit of $7.3million for FY 26′. Allott took over with the objective of creating new revenue streams to turn the balance sheet around. In recent interviews to local media, he has spoken of budgeting errors of broadcast revenue to the tune of $5 million as the main reason behind the shortfall. Losing Indian fantasy league partner Dream 11 (after its ban following India’s gambling law changes) has also hurt. In the prevailing cricket economy, an in-bound India tour acts as a silver bullet. It is no different for NZC.
“Broadcast revenue is a big part of how New Zealand Cricket operates, and when India tours, that flows directly into our international broadcast deals,” Allott told HT. “We’re also funded by ICC, alongside our own commercial partners, sponsors and gate receipts, but it is fair to say that Indian tours contribute significantly to our funding cycles.”
An all-format India tour of New Zealand comes after six years – India toured for a white-ball series in 2022-23 – and the series in October-November could not have been better timed for the host board.
Allott calls the India series “an incredible occasion” and “a celebration of our two countries”.
With the five-match T20I series being a renewal of rivalry between this year’s World Cup finalists, the two-match Test series being potentially decisive in the World Test Championship final race and the five ODIs riding on the buzz around Virat Kohli’s possible farewell tour, the stakes are quite high. “Ticket sales are already breaking records and we are aiming to see plenty of ‘sold out’ signs,” he said.
On his India relationships, Allott said, “I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity of developing long term relationships in India over the past 14 years of doing business in the country. Now in my new role as CEO of NZC, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with people I’ve known over the years and building new relationships, across the men’s and women’s game. We’ve had a close working relationship with BCCI over a long period and I’m keen to ensure that continues to shine.”
In the coming months the way the Future Tours Programme is charted, NZC will be keen to finalise as many profitable bilateral series as possible. Like most cricket boards outside the Big Three (Australia, India and England), NZC has found it challenging to offer enough meaning to Test cricket beyond the WTC-mandated two-match series. India’s last two Test series in New Zealand were also short, two-match affairs, an unfavorable time zone for Indian viewers a contributing factor.
NZ T20 League
Invariably, T20 cricket holds the key. NZC have been late to climb on to the franchise bandwagon, but are aiming to hit the target with their own variant, NZ20, with potential foreign investment.
“NZ20 is an incredibly exciting opportunity for cricket in New Zealand. It’ll provide an opportunity to create a high energy, fan centric entertainment model while also giving our men’s and women’s players a chance to play in their own home-grown franchise competition,” said Allott. “There’s been strong interest so far and NZC & NZ20 hope to make further announcements in the coming months, with an aim to launch in the 2027/28 season.”