Brendon McCullum to retire from international cricket
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum will retire from all forms of international cricket. McCullum made the announcement in Christchurch, where he said the home-series against Australia in February will be his last. "I've loved my opportunity to play for, and captain the Black Caps. But all good things have to come to an end, and I'm just grateful for the wonderful experience," he said.
Brendon Barrie McCullum, born in Dunedin, Otago, NZ hails from a cricketing family. His father, Stuart, played first-class cricket for Otago while his brother, Nathan, represented New Zealand. In 2002, McCullum made his New Zealand debut as a 20-year-old batsman in a one-day international against Australia at Sydney. Two years later, in 2004, he made his Test debut against South Africa.
As a batsman, McCullum had been a high-impact, aggressive player, batting largely in the middle order in Tests, and as an opener in the shorter formats. He is the first and so far, New Zealand's only triple-centurion. McCullum is the joint-record holder for most Test sixes alongside Adam Gilchrist. He also holds the record for most Twenty20 sixes with 91.
McCullum has scored 6,273 test runs in 99 tests, with 11 hundreds, and 31 half-centuries at an average of 38.48. His highest test score of 302 came against India last year.
In December 2012, Brendon McCullum became the captain of New Zealand, taking over the leadership from Ross Taylor. Under his stewardship, the Black Caps have won 11 and drawn 11 of 31 Tests. His record as an one-day captain is a New Zealand best at 59.43 percent, which includes him leading his side in the World Cup Final this year.
McCullum represented Kolkata Knight Riders and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL and was bought by CSK in the 2014 IPL Player Auction. For the 2016 season, McCullum will play for the new franchise from Rajkot. He claims the second-highest score in Twenty20 cricket, an unbeaten 158 in the IPL.
