Twitter and Facebook went into a frenzy on Saturday after rumours started circulating on social media that New Zealand cricketer Nathan McCullum, brother of former Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum, had died due to complications in hospital. However, Nathan McCullum himself cleared the air over reports of his death, telling fans that he is still alive with a cheeky social media post. But his younger brother Brendon McCullum was not as forgiving on Twitter rubbishing the rumours and vowing to find the culprit for spreading fake news.
Nathan McCullum was the first to react, taking to Twitter and posting a selfie to prove that he was still alive.
Younger brother Brendon was aghast and revealed that he was on a flight back to New Zealand when he was made aware of the news. A fuming Brendon McCullum promised that "Whoever put this out there, I'll find you! Somewhere, somehow".
Brendon McCullum is currently plying his trade in the T10 League with the Rajputs. His team suffered a humiliating defeat to Northern Warriors on Friday night.
The Rajputs were restricted to 64 for eight in 10 overs with captain McCullum managing just 2 off 5 balls. Northern Warriors, led by Nicholas Pooran's 18-ball 45 not out reached the target with 25 balls remaining.
Brendon McCullum played 101 Tests, 260 ODIs and 71 T20Is for New Zealand. The destructive right-hander has 6,453 runs in Tests, 6,083 in ODIs and 2,140 in T20Is. The 37-year-old ended his international career with a total of 19 hundreds and 76 half-centuries.
He was also the first player to play 100 consecutive Tests from his debut.
On the other hand, Nathan McCullum retired from international cricket in 2016, having made 84 ODIs and 63 T20 internationals appearances for the Black Caps.