Former NZ captain Brendon McCullum retires from all forms of cricket

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will retire from all forms of competitive cricket after the conclusion of the ongoing Global T20 Canada, ending a journey which he termed "one hell of a ride". McCullum, who is playing for Toronto Nationals, had retired from all forms of international cricket in 2016 but continued to ply his trade in various T20 leagues across the globe.

The 37-year-old former Black Caps skipper has played 101 Tests from which he scored 6453 runs with 12 hundred and the highest score of 302. In 260 ODIs, he scored 6083 runs with five hundred while 71 T20 Internationals fetched him 2140 runs.

He has a prolific T20 career (all leagues included) as he scored 9922 runs from 370 games so far. "It is with pride and satisfaction that I am today announcing my retirement from all cricket following the conclusion of the GT20 Canada. I now won't be playing in the Euro T20 Slam and I sincerely thank the organisers for their support and understanding of my decision," McCullum said in an official statement on his twitter page.

"As much as I am proud of what I have achieved in my 20-year professional career -- more than I ever could have dreamt of when I first entered the game -- I felt the drive to keep going, harder to maintain in recent months," said McCullum, who was one of the commentators during last month's ICC World Cup. No one can ever forget McCullum's magnificent 158 not out off 73 balls for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the first edition of IPL -- an innings that was instrumental in the league gaining instant popularity.

"My style of cricket has always been full noise and full throttle. From Culling Park to Lord's and everything in between, there have been some wonderful memories," McCullum said. "Unfortunately, the sacrifices needed and commitment required to play that type of cricket have now become too great. I owe it to myself and the teams I represent to close that chapter rather than plough on regardless of what I know to be true."

The dasher from Canterbury is extremely proud of the manner in which he played the game. He was a trailblazer in his own right and is happy that the Kiwis broke boundaries during his tenure in international cricket. "With New Zealand, we broke boundaries and established a style of play that earned us respect across the world. In T20 cricket, I have enjoyed so many varied challenges, I can leave the game knowing I left no stone unturned."

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