Colin Munro brings curtain down on international career
Munro didn’t feature in an international match for New Zealand since 2020
Colin Munro brought the curtain down on his international career on Friday after not been included in New Zealand's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Munro didn’t feature in an international match for New Zealand since 2020 but had made himself available for the World Cup in the United States and West Indies.
New Zealand coach Gray Stead confirmed that Munro was part of the discussion when the squad was announced but he didn’t get the nod in the end.
Munro, 37, will continue playing franchise cricket, something which he has been doing for the last four years on a regular basis.
"Playing for the Black Caps has always been the biggest achievement in my playing career," Munro said. "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 Black Caps squad for the T20 World Cup now is the perfect time to close that chapter officially."
Munro represented New Zealand in one Test, 57 ODIs and 65 T20Is. He scored three centuries in T20I cricket, including a 47-ball ton against West Indies in 2018 which was a New Zealand record at the time. He also smashed a 14-ball half-century against Sri Lanka, which is the fourth fastest in T20I cricket and also a New Zealand record.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink lauded Munro after the retirement decision was announced.
"Colin was one of our first players to embrace the aggressive, 360-degree style batting that is now accepted all around the world as best practice," Weenink said.
"He was one of the pioneers of the new game, an innovative batsman who took calculated risk-taking to a new level, and led what was to become a revolution in the way short-form cricket was played. We thank him for his amazing contribution in more than hundred international games, and wish him well in his future pursuits."
