'I feel like age is just a number' - Ross Taylor dismisses retirement rumors

The rumors of New Zealand’s veteran batsman Ross Taylor hanging his boots in the international circuit have been doing rounds in the cricket fraternity for quite some time now. The middle-order batsman has touched the age of 37 but is still going strong and has managed to bail out the Blackcaps from many crunch situations. 

He is the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in One Day Internationals and the purest format of the game. The Wellington-born was involved in an interactive session where he spoke about his plans of retirement at lengths. The 37-year-old, who is currently in England for the two-match Test series against host, which will be followed by WTC final against India, asserted that age is just a number.

Taylor revealed that he thought of taking retirement after the 2019 World Cup but he didn’t felt like hanging his boots as he still has cricket left in him and wants to enjoy the game as much as he can. “I feel like age is just a number and as long as you’re still enjoying it and feel like you’re good enough and can contribute to the team on and off the field,” New Zealand-based website RNZ.

“I guess once you start getting into your thirties you start thinking about it. I always had the number 35 in mind, I don’t know why, I think probably because of the 2019 World Cup. But I didn’t think just because it was a World Cup that it was time to retire. I haven’t got a number in mind. 

It’s nice for me to break the mold of New Zealanders: Ross Taylor

“Everyone I talk to says you’re a long-time retired and you know when the right time is. I’m sure those things will pop up but when I do pull stumps I’m sure it’ll feel right and it’ll be the right time for me,” he added. 

There has been a pattern of early retirement in New Zealand as many great cricket personalities hanged their boots after reaching a certain age. However, Ross Taylor is happy to break such stereotypes and is hoping that the current players, including Kane Williamson, will continue their career for long just like him. 

“It’s nice for me to break the mold of New Zealanders who traditionally retire young and hopefully in the years to come the likes of Kane [Williamson] and co are still going at 37 as long as they still enjoy it and aren’t just playing for the sake of it.”

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