McCullum wants to stay as England coach – will he get the chance?

Mumbai, Saturday night. The Wankhede’s stands had emptied after India’s last-over triumph in the T20 World Cup semi-final, yet the most telling image came at the boundary rope. Brendon McCullum, still in his England tracksuit, wrapped Harry Brook in a wordless embrace that felt less like a post-match courtesy and more like a valediction.

The tournament exit ends an English winter that began in Wellington and unravelled through an Ashes defeat, off-field embarrassments and, finally, a high-scoring thriller on the west coast of India. It also triggers the question McCullum knew was coming: is the 42-year-old’s turbulent stewardship of the national side over?

“I’m enjoying the role across all formats and I’d love to carry that on,” McCullum volunteered in the mixed zone, unprompted. The soundbite was upbeat; the subtext less so. His contract runs until the 2027 home Ashes and the 50-over World Cup later that autumn, but the England and Wales Cricket Board has offered no public reassurance since launching a wide-ranging review after the Sydney Test debacle.

Chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson, both in Mumbai this week, left the Wankhede without comment. Their silence, following weeks of missed opportunities to back the head coach, fuels speculation that McCullum’s fate is anything but sealed.

Inside the dressing-room, support remains robust. Brook, who produced the innings of his T20 career after McCullum urged him to bat at No. 3, called the New Zealander “125% the man to continue”. Ben Stokes, though absent from India, offered similar backing during the Ashes. Yet the chemistry between captain and coach looked strained in Australia, where Stokes’ plea for “a bit of dog” collided with McCullum’s insistence on unbridled aggression.

On the field, England’s progress is harder to parse. The semi-final featured their highest-ever runs conceded after winning a T20 toss, yet the side pushed India to the final over—an improvement on the 229-run humiliation against South Africa at the same ground in 2023. Tactical gambits paid off: Liam Dawson and Sam Curran returned to useful effect; Will Jacks flourished as a finisher; fielding standards rose under the revived guidance of Carl Hopkinson. Training sessions in Colombo and Mumbai stretched deep into the night, a retort to accusations of complacency during the Ashes.

But the ledger still tilts toward failure. England lost the Ashes, generated more headlines for nightlife indiscretions than victories, and depart India having met only the minimum pre-tournament target of a semi-final berth. The structural decisions that preceded the Ashes—no warm-up matches, the mid-series excursion to Noosa—sit on McCullum’s CV, not anyone else’s.

Gould and Thompson must now weigh whether a coach who preaches freedom and loyalty can still impose the discipline required to win marquee series. Rob Key, managing director, will add input once he returns from the UAE, where he was stranded with the Lions squad. Stokes’ position appears secure; Key’s is less certain; McCullum’s hangs in the balance.

Three months of boardroom deliberation await before England regroup at Lord’s on 4 June for the first Test of the summer. McCullum has declared his hand—he wants to stay, and his players still believe. Whether that passion survives a winter of recrimination will decide if Saturday’s embrace was temporary farewell or full stop.