Brilliant opening batsman Colin Munro has announced his retirement from international cricket, four years after he last played for the Blackcaps.
Munro, 37, has represented New Zealand in 65 T20Is, 57 ODIs and one Test, scoring over 3000 international runs and taking seven wickets.
In recent years he has become a cricketing troubadour, playing in many of the world's T20 competitions, but it is only after missing out on selection for next month's World Cup that it is time to call it quits at international level. He said he accepted it.
“It has been quite some time since I last played, but I never gave up hope that I could get back to T20 form for the franchise.
“With the announcement of the Black Caps squad for the T20 World Cup, now is the perfect time to officially close that chapter.”
He was contacted by the New Zealand selection committee last month about being in the T20 squad for the tour of Pakistan, but missed out on selection for the World Cup due to unavailability.
Munro said he would continue to play white-ball cricket around the world. His most recent appearance was for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, but he has played in a number of overseas competitions including West Indies, India, Australia, England, UAE, India and Canada.
The South African-born player is the Black Caps' sixth-highest T20 international run-scorer with 1724 runs at an average of 31, including three centuries, at a strike rate of 156.4, the most by a New Zealander. .
Munro represented New Zealand at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006 and made his international debut in all three formats on the 2012-13 tour of South Africa.
He was a regular in the Black Caps' T20 and ODI teams from 2016 to 2019, appearing in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups and the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
Munro set new records with his bold approach.
His 47-ball century against West Indies at Bay Oval in 2018 was the fastest ever T20 century for New Zealand at the time, and his 14-ball half-century against Sri Lanka at Eden Park in 2016 remains the fastest 50 centuries in T20. Fourth fastest New Zealander of all time.
“Playing for the Black Caps has always been the biggest achievement of my playing career,” he said.
“I have never been more proud than to put on that jersey and the fact that I was able to do it 123 times across all formats is something I will always be incredibly proud of.”
Last year, Munro expressed bitterness at only playing one Test.
His only test came against the Proteas in South Africa in 2013, when the Blackcaps were beaten by an innings and 193 runs.
Munroe replaced the injured James Franklin on the wing, scoring a Golden Duck in the first inning and 15 points in the second inning.
he said ESPNCricinfo After the T20 series, he was asked to remain on tour as an injury cover and said he was in terrible form heading into the Test.
“I neglected to bat in the nets because I was preparing for the one-day series that followed. So I didn't prepare much for the red ball with the bat,” Munro said.
He averaged over 50 with 13 centuries and 15-and-a-half centuries in first-class cricket.
“Honestly, I thought I deserved the spot,” Munro said. ESPNCricinfo.
“It's not just because of my average but also the weight of the runs I scored. At the time I would have been very disappointed and a little bitter about not playing Test cricket. Because it was what I wanted to do.”
He felt that he may have also been hampered by then captain Brendon McCullum batting in the middle order, as the selectors did not want two attacking middle order batsmen.
But after McCollum retired in 2016, he struggled to understand that he wasn't selected.
He found himself looking at some of the players selected and thinking, “How did they get there?” I felt I had to ask some tough questions to the management, but they just told me that my way of playing first-class cricket, the way I play first-class cricket, doesn't work at Test level. ”
NZC CEO Scott Wienink said Munro would be remembered as one of New Zealand's best multi-batsmen.
“He was one of the pioneers of the new game, an innovative batsman who took calculated risk-taking to a new level and ushered in what would become a revolution in the way short-form cricket is played.”