Brendon McCullum calls Viv Richards as his favourite cricketer of all time

New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum has named former West Indian batsman Viv Richards as his personal favourite cricketer of all time. The wicketkeeper-batsman has described the former West Indies captain as "the leader of cricket" around the world during his time.

Richards has been dubbed by many as the “most destructive batsman of all time”, who averages 50.23 with the bat in Tests and 47 in One-Day Internationals.

He said, "My favourite West Indies player of all time has to be Sir Viv Richards. He was the leader of cricket right around the world throughout his time; his charisma, the way he carried himself, the way he led his team and obviously the way that he played as well,"

He quickly added, “He wasn’t just one of my favourite West Indies players; he was one of my favourite players of all time as well. I had the opportunity to meet him not long ago. Sometimes it’s dangerous to meet your heroes, but not on this occasion. It was a really cool moment, and what a guy he is as well.”

Excited to play in the CPL: McCullum

McCullum is among several international players selected to play in the fourth edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to start later this year. He will represent Trinbago Knight Riders, one of six franchises in the CPL along with South African Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal of Pakistan and former West Indies stroke-maker Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The right-handed batsman is one of the greatest T20 players of all time and has gathered 2,140 runs from 71 T20 International matches is very excited about the CPL. He said, “I’m super excited to be featuring in this edition of the 2016 CPL. It’s really special to be playing in the Caribbean; the fan engagement and carnival atmosphere is something I’ve heard a lot from a lot of players around the world,”

McCullum also talked about his love for the Caribbean culture and the people. He said, “My favourite memories of playing in the West Indies are in touring around some of the boutique grounds I’ve been involved in. I guess there are the cultural aspects of the Caribbean (as well), and just getting to meet some of the great people over there.”