A fan club on social, New Zealand Cricket Fanhub declared former Kiwi cricketer Nathan McCullum dead on Saturday.
According to their various posts on Facebook and Twitter said that Nathan died due to complications in the hospital.
However, laughing at the rumours, Nathan shared a selfie with some of his mates a few hours later.
"I am alive and kicking more than ever before. "Not sure where this news has come from but this is fake. Love you all," he said on Twitter rubbishing the hoax news.
Reportedly, the chief executive of NZ Players Association, Heath Mills, was contacted by a few Indian cricketers who had heard the false reports. So, Mills called McCullum himself to check.
"I have to say, my heart was racing before he picked up. He is very much alive and had spent the day at a bowls event in Auckland," Mills said
Nathan, 38, is the brother of former BlackCaps skipper Brendon McCullum. He retired from international cricket in 2016.
This was not for the first time hoax reports got circulated about a cricketer in 2018. Earlier this year, there were fake reports about the passing away of Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal and former Pakistani cricketers Abdul Razzaq and now their prime minister, Imran Khan.
