Brendon McCullum announces retirement from international cricket

Brendon McCullum speaks during a press conference to announce his retirement

Brendon McCullum will retire from all formats of international cricket in February 2016, at the conclusion of the home Test series against Australia, according to an announcement made by the 34-year-old in Christchurch, a day after sealing a 2-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka.

McCullum will not be part of the World T20 in March, to be played in India, and he said that he was making the announcement now because the New Zealand squad for the world event is to be named soon, and he wanted to put himself out of contention for selection. Kane Williamson will lead the Kiwis at the World T20.

McCullum will retire after having played in 101 Tests – an unique feat of having not missed a single match in between, which will go down as one of cricket’s unbreakable records.

"Ideally, I would have preferred to wait until after the Test in Christchurch to make this news public," he said.

"However, the schedule for naming the ICC World T20 squads means I couldn't have managed this without causing a lot of confusion and speculation - something I was keen to avoid.”

Loved opportunity to play for BLACKCAPS: McCullum

McCullum said, “I've loved my opportunity to play for, and captain the BLACKCAPS, but all good things have to come to an end, and I'm just grateful for the wonderful experience of playing for my country.

"There's a time and place for reflection and that's at the end of your career. For now, I'll be giving all my attention to helping the team focus on what's coming up over the next few weeks - and making sure we're in the best possible shape for what's going to be a very challenging summer."

Brendon McCullum can be recognised as the captain who led the New Zealand team through a very successful period, one which involved featuring in a World Cup final. His brand of aggressive captaincy gave the Kiwi team a new dimension, and earned fans all over the world.

McCullum's New Zealand equalled the team's longest undefeated home streak, of 13 Tests, as a result of the victory on Sri Lanka completed on Monday. McCullum's current 11 victories from 29 matches also makes his win percentage the highest of any New Zealand captain.

It is under McCullum’s watch that New Zealand have also found one of the most feared new ball bowling duos of modern times, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and arguably the best batsman in the world based on current form, Kane Williamson.