New Zealand's star batsman Colin Munro has announced that he will retire from international cricket on Friday 10 May. Munro, who made his debut in the shortest format in December 2012 and ODI debut the following month, decided to call it quits. The 37-year-old left-handed batsman, known for his explosive batting, has scored three centuries in T20Is and was a key member of New Zealand's squad at the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. He was also part of the black team of the Caps that reached the finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Munro's Test career was limited to just one match as his skills were primarily in T20I cricket. With 1724 runs in 65 T20Is, Munro is the sixth highest run-scorer for New Zealand in this format. Munro holds the record for most centuries by a New Zealand batsman in T20Is as he maintains an impressive strike rate of 156.4, with three to his name.
Playing for New Zealand My greatest achievement: Colin Munro
Colin Munro took to his official social media handle, Instagram, to declare that representing the Black Caps was the pinnacle of his career. He has made 123 appearances across all formats and is proud to wear his national team jersey.
“Playing for the Black Caps will always be the biggest achievement of my playing career. I have never been more proud than to wear that jersey and to have done it 123 times across all formats. “I am and will always be incredibly proud of that fact. I am today announcing my retirement from international cricket,” said the former New Zealand opener.
Munro continues to play franchise cricket
Colin Munro also said he remains hopeful of a return, buoyed by strong performances in franchise T20 cricket. Munro believes the announcement of New Zealand's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup is the perfect opportunity to officially end his international career. He also mentioned that he would continue to play franchise cricket.
“It's been quite some time since I last played, but I never gave up hope that I might be able to get back to T20 form for the franchise. I completely understand why that never happened, but… With the announcement of the BlackCaps team for the World T20, now is the perfect time to officially close that chapter and I can't wait to see the boys do their thing in the Caribbean. We look forward to continuing to do business in the franchising space around the world,” he added.