New Zealand’s Kane Williamson retires from Twenty20 Internationals
New Zealand great Kane Williamson announced his retirement from T20 Internationals. The batter decided to wrap up his 93-game T20 International career. He signed off from the format as the second-highest run getter for his nation.
New Zealand great Kane Williamson announced his retirement from T20 Internationals. The batter decided to wrap up his 93-game T20 International career. He signed off from the format as the second-highest run getter for his nation. Williamson retired from T20I only to focus on the upcoming Test series. The 35-year-old retires as New Zealand’s second-highest men’s T20I run-scorer with 2575 runs at an average of 33, including 18 50s and a highest score of 95.
The Tauranga-born made his T20I debut in 2011, then became the captain of the team. As the captain, he led the team in 75 T20I games. He was the leader of the Black Caps in multiple World Cups. Under his leadership, New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals of the 2016 & 2022 ICC T20 World Cups and the final of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. As he announced his retirement from the format, he will not participate in the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies.
The decision to take retirement from the format, after playing so many matches, was not easy for the cricketer himself. In an emotional statement, he felt that it is the right time to say good bye to the format, as there are too many talents who can represent the team. He mentioned the next T20I World Cup as well.
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Retirement speech of Kane Williamson
"It’s something that I’ve loved being a part of for a long period of time, and I’m so grateful for the memories and experiences. It’s the right time for me and the team. It gives the team clarity for the series moving forward and ahead of their next major focus, which is the T20 World Cup," Williamson said in his retirement speech.
"There’s so much T20 talent there, and the next period will be important to get cricket into these guys and get them ready for the World Cup. Mitch is a brilliant captain and leader—he’s really come into his own with this team. It’s now their time to push the BLACKCAPS forward in this format, and I’ll be supporting from afar."
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