McCullum will not feature in the limited overs series against Zimbabwe and South Africa

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has decided to miss the upcoming limited overs tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August since he has had an “intense period of cricket dating back to the World Cup”.

However, McCullum has assured New Zealand Cricket (NZC) that he will lead the Black Caps during their home and away series against Australia at the end of the the year and during the 2016 World Twenty20 as well. This brings an end to the speculation about McCullum’s ODI future, which started after New Zealand lost 3-2 to England during their recently concluded five-match ODI series.

“It’s a critical time for the team,” McCullum said. “We’ve had a very good past 18 months but we’ve got some real challenges ahead of us and we need to keep making progress. This is a young, emerging side with some very big series on the horizon and it’s a really exciting time to be involved.”

With New Zealand set to release their list of contracted players for the 2015-16 season on July 1, NZC chief executive David White admitted that having McCullum on board for another year is “extremely good news”.

“Under Brendon, the Blackcaps have enjoyed unprecedented success over the past 18 months and to have him remaining at the helm for another year is extremely good news,” he said. “Brendon has proved himself to be an exceptional player and leader and the side will be much stronger for his presence.”