All good things must come to an end, says Brendon McCullum after IPL Auction snub
What's the story?
Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum is not too flustered at going unsold at the recently held 2019 IPL auction.
Expressing his feelings in a rather cryptic manner, the veteran batsman has taken pride in seeing quite a few of his erstwhile Kiwi teammates attracting hefty bids at the auction.
"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", McCullum told Radio Sport.
The background
It was McCullum who started off the IPL on a resounding note during April 18 in 2008. He has represented five franchises across eleven IPL seasons (Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore) and has appeared in more than 100 games. After retiring from international cricket in 2016, he has continued to play various T20 leagues across the world.
The heart of the matter
McCullum, who was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.6 crore at the 2018 IPL auction managed just 127 runs in six matches throughout season eleven. It was a complete letdown by the swashbuckling kiwi batsman who has 2881 IPL runs to his name. Virat Kohli's men missed the playoffs berth last season and McCullum was eventually released by the Bangalore franchises ahead of the 2019 auction.
He entered the December 18 auction with a base price of INR 2 crore and was one among the nine players in the highest base price bracket. Unfortunately, he went unsold as none of the eight franchises showed interest in him. It was not an unexpected scenario as his 2018 IPL performance was not up to the mark. Also, his age (37) and the enormous base price too contributed to his misfortunes at the auction.
What's next?
IPL fans will certainly miss watching McCullum who has appeared in every single edition of the tournament since its inception. The buzz surrounding the league will also no longer be the same without the Kiwi.