Saturday Nov 29, 2025
Saturday Nov 29, 2025
Monday, 3 November 2025 06:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Former New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson has retired from T20 Internationals (T20Is), saying it is “the right time for myself and the team.”
The 35-year-old is set to feature in the three-Test series against West Indies in December and will continue to play One Day International (ODI) and T20 franchise cricket.
He scored 2,575 runs at an average of 33.44 and a strike rate of 123 in 93 T20Is. Only Martin Guptill, with 3,531, has scored more for New Zealand.
As Captain, Williamson led New Zealand to the T20 World Cup final in 2021, top-scoring with 85 in defeat by Australia.
“It gives the team clarity for the series moving forward and ahead of their next major focus, which is the T20 World Cup,” said Williamson. “There’s so much T20 talent there and the next period will be important to get cricket into these guys and get them ready for the World Cup.”
“Mitch [Santner] is a brilliant Captain and leader – he has really come into his own with this team. It’s now their time to push the Black Caps forward in this format and I’ll be supporting from afar.”
The T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starts in February.
Williamson made his T20 debut for New Zealand in 2011 but had not featured since June 2024. Regarded by many as the best batter in New Zealand history, he is their leading Test run-scorer of all time and fourth on the ODI list.
