Colin Munro announces retirement from international cricket

Star New Zealand cricketer Colin Munro has announced his retirement from international cricket. With 3010 runs in 128 matches across formats, Munro has not played for the national team in the last four years, with his last appearance coming against India in 2020.

The southpaw made his debut in the shortest format in December 2012 before making his ODI debut the following month. The 37-year-old, who also has three centuries in T20Is, was a part of the T20 World Cup squads in 2014 and 2016 and was a part of the Black Caps side that lost the ODI World Cup 2019 final.

Predominantly considered a white-ball specialist, Munro has only played one Test match in his career, in January 2013. His retirement was announced by the official account of New Zealand’s cricket team across their social media handles. 

“Thanks, Colin! @munro82 has announced his retirement from international cricket, officially calling time on an international career that spanned 123 matches,” BlackCapsNZ captioned the post.

I never felt prouder than donning that jersey: Munro

After the announcement, Colin Munro came forward to reflect on his time with New Zealand. Munro highlighted how proud he felt every time he put on the jersey of the national team. He revealed that he hoped that he would be selected in NZ’s T20 World Cup squad on the basis of his form in franchise cricket. However, due to him missing out on the squad, he felt that it was the perfect time to retire. 

"Playing for the BLACKCAPS has always been the biggest achievement in my playing career, I  never felt prouder than donning that jersey, and the fact that I've been able to do that 123 times across all formats is something I will always be incredibly proud of. Although it has been a while since my last appearance, I never gave up hope that I might be able to return off the back of my franchise T20 form. With the announcement of the BLACKCAPS squad for the T20 World Cup now is the perfect time to close that chapter officially,” Munro said as quoted by Cricbuzz.