'It's The Way': WTC Winning Kiwi Pacer Comments On New Zealand Players Rejecting Central Contracts

World Test Championship 2025: Cricket, at times can come across as a complicated sport for many. The sport is played across three different formats on the international level, but as far as the domestic tournaments are concerned there are things like 'The Hundred' and the T10s. The Indian Premier League (IPL) that started back in 2008 has given a meteoric rise to the club cricket culture. The IPL is the BCCI's brainchild, but many other cricket boards have tried to emulate the success of India's biggest cricket league.

Tim Southee Wants The ICC and Franchise Leagues To Work Together

Players from New Zealand have always been considered as the 'good boys of cricket'. The Kiwis always play as an aggressive unit, but hardly sledge the opposition players. They've always let their cricket do the talking. But as things stand, many renowned Kiwi players have opted out of their national contracts. The reason behind this is their demand in franchise cricket.

The Kiwis are highly skilled, have great work ethics and these qualities make them the most sought after cricketers. Trent Boult started the trend of pulling out of his central contract and now it seems that it has become a new normal in the dynamics of New Zealand cricket.

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While speaking during CEAT cricket rating awards Southee shed light on what should be the correct way for the ICC to keep international cricket alive.

'Yeah, I think that's decisions that each individual board are taking into account. Obviously the franchise leagues and the franchise world is growing. It would be nice to see the international [boards] and the leagues working together. I guess it's the way that cricket is going and then the amount of T20 leagues that are popping up. To look at it from Kane (Williamson) and Devon's (Conway) point of view, they're still committed to New Zealand cricket, and we've got nine Test matches coming up.', said Southee as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

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Central Contract vs Franchise Cricket: The New Zealand Cricket Dilemma

Superstar New Zealand players such as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway too have turned down central contracts in the past as they seemed to be focussed on franchise cricket. New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has expressed his concerns about players losing the motivation to represent their countries.