Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain, has called time on his cricket career four years after his international retirement. The ongoing Global T20 Canada, where he is representing the Toronto Nationals, will be his last.

This means McCullum will not turn up for Glasgow Giants as one of the icon players in the inaugural Euro T20 Slam from August 30.

"As much as I'm proud of what I've achieved in my 20 years 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 wrote on Instagram.

It's been real... pic.twitter.com/sdCqLZTDz6

— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) August 5, 2019

"My style of cricket has always been full noise, full throttle. From Culling Park to Lord's and everything in between, there have been some wonderful memories. Unfortunately, the sacrifices needed and commitment required to play that type of cricket have now become too great."

McCullum has been an in-demand T20 cricketer since his international retirement in 2015, with stints in the IPL with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash, Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL.

In December 2018, McCullum went unsold at the IPL auction. In February, he called time on his BBL career with Heat after a relatively strong season in which he made 302 runs in 13 innings. At the time, he expressed his desire to continue playing T20 cricket worldwide.

Only two weeks ago in London, McCullum was signed by Glasgow for the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam, where he was to team up with Dale Steyn, among others. However, the want to "plough on regardless" didn't appeal to him.

"I owe it to myself and the teams I represent to close that chapter rather than just plough on regardless of what I know to be true," he wrote. "In T20 cricket, I've enjoyed so many varied challenges, I can leave the game knowing I left no stone unturned."

An early pathbreaker of sorts in T20 cricket, McCullum's highest so far is the unbeaten 158 he made for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural IPL game in 2008. He is currently second in the list of highest T20 run-aggregators of all-time, with only Chris Gayle ahead of him.