After playing 123 international matches for New Zealand cricket, Colin Munro announced his retirement from international format on May 10, 2024.
Munro made his international debut in December 2012 in a T20I match against South Africa and made his ODI debut in January 2013. Munro featured in only Test played in 2013 against South Africa.
Munro represented New Zealand at the 2006 ICC Under 19 World Cup in Sri Lanka before making his international debut in all three formats on the 2012-13 tour of South Africa.
Munro ends his international career as the BLACKCAPS’ current sixth all-time leading T20 international run scorer with 1,724 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 156.4, including three T20 international centuries, the most by any New Zealander.
His 14-ball half-century against Sri Lanka at Eden Park in 2016 is still the fastest T20 half-century by a New Zealander and the fourth fastest of all time.
Colin Munro announced his international retirement statement through his official Instagram account.
“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”, the 37-year-old said.
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NZC chief executive Scott Weenink reserved rich praise for Munro, labelling him as one of the pioneers of 360-degree style batting.
“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,” he 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 a hundred international games, and wish him well in his future pursuits”, he added.
Though Munro retired from international cricket, the left-handed batter will continue to play franchise cricket around the world.
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