Black Caps v West Indies: Kane Williamson retires from Twenty20 Internationals

Black Caps great Kane Williamson has retired from Twenty20 Internationals.

The 35-year-old has called time on his career in the shortest format and has also opted out of this month’s One-Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies. Instead, Williamson will prepare for the three-test series against the same opposition, starting next month.

Williamson will continue to play in ODI cricket, as well as T20 on the franchise circuit, and has signed on to act as a mentor for the Lucknow Super Giants in next year’s Indian Premier League.

He ends his career in T20 Internationals (T20Is) with 2575 runs for the Black Caps, second only to Martin Guptill. All up, Williamson played 93 times for New Zealand, with 75 of them coming as captain.

As well as his contribution with the bat, Williamson was also one of the most astute captains in T20 cricket.

His leadership and tactics were key in New Zealand’s run to the 2021 T20 World Cup final, where Williamson scored 85 in an eight-wicket loss to Australia.

“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,” he said. “It’s the right time for myself 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.

“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 [Santner] is a brilliant captain and leader – he’s really come into his own with this team.

“It’s now their time to push the Black Caps forward in this format and I’ll be supporting from afar.”

Kane Williamson in action during the second T20 against India. Photo / Photosport

Williamson had been under pressure to earn his place in the T20 squad, after Rachin Ravindra established himself as New Zealand’s first choice No 3 in the former captain’s absence.

The likes of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Tim Robinson and Devon Conway had also provided the former captain with plenty of competition for spots in the top three.

Last month, before the Black Caps’ ODI series whitewash against England, Williamson had indicated his desire to represent New Zealand at the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, as well as continue to play test cricket.

However, he made no mention of next year’s T20 World Cup, with today’s announcement confirming that Williamson will not take part.

Williamson is one of five Black Caps currently committed to New Zealand Cricket on a casual playing agreement, effectively leaving him free to pursue opportunities in franchise cricket.

While he has made it clear he intends to play on in test cricket, where he could become the first New Zealander to reach the mark of 10,000 test runs, that will come at the expense of T20s.

And despite the potentially worrying trend of players being able to pick and choose when they’re available for internationals, New Zealand Cricket says Williamson has earned that right.

“We’ve made it clear to Kane he has our full support as he reaches the back end of his illustrious career,” chief executive Scott Weenink said.

“We would, of course, love to see him play for as long as possible, but there’s no doubt whenever he does decide to finally call time, he will go down as a legend of New Zealand cricket.

“With Kane committed to play the West Indies test series in December, I’d encourage all Kiwis to take the opportunity to get out and witness one of our greatest ever cricketers play.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.