New Zealand's Colin Munro Announces Retirement from International Cricket

Colin Munro has announced his retirement from international cricket after having not been selected in New Zealand’s T20Wc squad for the World Cup 2024.

Munro had joined the camp for the T20 World Cup as an uncapped player after his last appearance for New Zealand in 2020 but still remained in the selection. A great news from the coach of the New Zealand team, Gray Stead is that Munro is on the list. He adds that there was a time when Munro was discussed at the selection table but at the end, there was no room for him.

"Being able to do it for the Black Caps every time is the greatest success in my career as a player."- Munro said. "There was and has always been a moment which made me so proud when I put that jersey on, the fact that I've been able to do that 123 times across all formats will always be something I'm proud for."

"Even though it has been a long since I played for my team, I never lost faith that I may be able to make a comeback based on my franchise T20 form. Now is the ideal moment to formally finish that chapter with the unveiling of the Black Caps team for the T20 World Cup."

For New Zealand, Munro participated in one Test, 57 ODIs, and 65 T20Is. He was outstanding in the shorter format, amassing three hundreds, the best of which was a record-breaking fifty-seven off 47 balls against the West Indies in 2018. In addition, he hit the fourth quickest half-century in Twenty20 International Cricket (T20I) against Sri Lanka, a record that he still holds for the Black Caps.

Scott Weenink stated:

"Colin was one of our first players to embrace the aggressive, 360-degree style batting that is now accepted all around the world as best practice,"

He was a creative batsman who elevated measured risk-taking to a new level and spearheaded what would eventually turn into a revolution in the way short-form cricket was played. He was one of the founders of the new game. We appreciate his incredible contribution to almost a hundred international games and hope he succeeds in all of his future endeavors."