One of the most surprise exclusions in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 Auctions, was the name of former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum. A lot was said ahead of the auctions that McCullum would trigger a price war in Jaipur. However, it turned out that none of the eight franchises seemed interested in acquiring the services of the flamboyant batsman.

Brendon McCullum sounded cryptic while talking to Radio Sport on Friday. Was the explosive Kiwi batsman suggesting retirement from all forms of cricket, or had he moved on after he being snubbed at the IPL 2019 Auctions. Manoj Tiwary Fires Another Tweet After Remaining Unsold in IPL 2019 Player Auction; David Hussey Supports Bengal Cricketer.

McCullum said, “That’s the way things go sometimes. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve had 11 seasons in the IPL, and at some stage, you need to transition away from the playing stuff.”

The right-handed batsman, further added, “All good things must come to an end, and I was very delighted to see some of the Kiwi boys got picked up. I’m certainly not too worried about it; it’s the way the game goes sometimes. I certainly wish the other boys all the best, and you never know, you just never know what might unfold in the future.”

Last season in the IPL, Brendon McCullum played under the leadership of Virat Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise. McCullum scored 127 runs in 6 matches he played in IPL 11. He scored at an impressive strike rate of 144.31, with his highest score being 43. IPL 2019 Auction Highlights: Know Which Player Was Bought by Which Team in the Indian Premier League 12 Auctions in Jaipur.

Not to forget, Brendon McCullum was the player who lit up the inaugural season with his blazing innings of 158* runs against RCB, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders. In his IPL career, Brendon McCullum has played in 109 matches so far.

In those matches, McCullum has scored 2,881 runs at a strike rate of 131.61, with 158* runs his highest. McCullum has scored 2 centuries, and 13 half-centuries in his illustrious IPL career, spanned across 11 seasons.

However,  there is still a slim chance for the former Kiwi batsman to feature in the Indian Premier League. If any member of the current franchises is injured and the permutations and combinations allow a foreign player to fit in, McCullum can be a likely replacement. Stay tuned with LatestLY for all the latest updates about Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 12!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2018 11:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).