Sachin Tendulkar hails Brendon McCullum's contribution to New Zealand

New Delhi: Former India legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday hailed Brendon McCullum for his contribution to the New Zealand cricket.

"@Bazmccullum, your contribution to NZ cricket has been terrific. There was a fine balance between your fearless approach and focus on technique. The brand of cricket you encouraged your team to play was always entertaining," Tendulkar tweeted.

McCullum announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday. The 37-year-old has played 101 Test matches for New Zealand and scored 6453 runs with a high score of 302. He featured in 260 ODIs and amassed 6083 runs with a strike rate of 96.37.

McCullum also played 71 T20Is and scored 2140 runs with an average of 35.66. He had previously bid adieu to international cricket on February 24, 2016.

McCullum in a statement on Twitter said he has achieved more than he could ever dream of. He, however, stressed that the drive to keep going has become harder for him to maintain lately.

"As much as I am proud of what I've achieved in my 20-year professional career - more than I ever could have dreamed of when I first entered the game - I have felt the drive to keep going harder to maintain in recent months," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

McCullum represented Otago Volts at the provincial level, the Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League, the Brisbane Heat in Australia's Big Bash League and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

The player was also involved in the Caribbean Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League.

Earlier this year on February 4, he had announced his retirement from Big Bash League. He represented Brisbane Heat and played 34 matches for the side, scoring 990 runs, including nine fifties.

McCullum had led the Kiwi side to the finals of the 2015 World Cup. The side was defeated by Australia in the summit clash.

He also holds the record for scoring the fastest century in Test cricket as he had registered a ton from just 54 balls against Australia in 2016.

He would be retiring from all forms of cricket after the conclusion of the ongoing Global T20 Canada in which he is representing Toronto Nationals.