'In a matter of days...': Kane Williamson sheds light on his retirement from NZ's limited-overs

In a Group stage match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, New Zealand emerged victorious against Papua New Guinea, securing a 7-wicket win with a remarkable 46 balls left. Papua New Guinea batted first but struggled to build momentum, managing only 78 runs in 19.4 overs, with Charles Amini and Norman Vanua among the few to reach double figures. Lockie Ferguson's outstanding bowling performance of 3/0 in 4 overs earned him the Player of the Match title. In response, New Zealand confidently chased down the target in 12.2 overs, with Devon Conway top-scoring with 35 runs. Despite this win, New Zealand's failure to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the tournament underscores the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket and the Black Caps' major failure in the competition.

Also Read: 'Because of this, they topped group': Harbhajan on Team India positives

Kane Williamson made a huge statement about his T20I future with New Zealand

After New Zealand's victory over Papua New Guinea, which ended their Twenty20 World Cup 2024 campaign on June 17, limited-overs skipper Kane Williamson said that it is not the proper time to decide on his Twenty20 International future. With next year's World Test Championship (WTC) final looming on the horizon, the team's attention will now turn to red-ball cricket, as the talented right-hander noted.

While his figures in Twenty20 Internationals aren't as fantastic as they are in Tests and One-Day Internationals, Williamson is one of the few players to have thrived in all three forms of the game. The 33-year-old has participated in 93 Twenty20 International matches since making his debut in October 2011, scoring 2,575 runs.

According to ESPN Cricinfo's reporting, the Tauranga-born player addressed his future plans following Monday's encounter against Papua New Guinea, saying:

“Oh, I don't know. There's a bit of time between now and then, so it's about regrouping as a side. We've got red-ball cricket over the next year basically, so it's back into some other international formats, and we'll see where things land.”

“It took a long time to start and then, in a matter of days, we were not in contention, which was frustrating. We played against a couple of very strong sides who are very well equipped in these conditions and unfortunately that was the difference in our first two games. All in all it's frustrating, but there'll be learnings for the players that come back to this part of the world. These conditions have been somewhat challenging, so they are some good experiences to have going forward.”

Despite being unbeaten at 18 against Papua New Guinea, the experienced batter's overall performance in the tournament has been disappointing, with early dismissals against Afghanistan and the West Indies. This is the first time the Black Caps have failed to advance beyond the group stage in the T20 World Cup.

New Zealand's campaign included losses to Afghanistan and the West Indies, but they also won over Uganda and Papua New Guinea.