New Zealand’s Sophie Devine will step down from T20 captain after the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates but will continue to feature as a player in T20Is and lead the New Zealand ODI side.
Devine revealed that her desire to manage her workload better was the primary reason behind her decision. She led New Zealand for the first time on an interim basis a decade ago before taking on the role full-time in 2020.
The team won 25 runs out of 56 matches and one match ended in a tie under Sophie Devine’s captaincy.
A change coming at the top 🏏
New Zealand skipper to stand down at the conclusion of this year’s #T20WorldCup 👀https://t.co/4DiQYXYGmM
— ICC (@ICC) August 30, 2024
“I’m very proud to have had the privilege to captain the WHITE FERNS in both formats. With captaincy comes an additional workload that, while I’ve enjoyed taking on, can also be challenging at times. Stepping away from the T20 captaincy will take a bit off my plate so I can focus more of my energy on my playing role and nurturing the future leaders,” said Devine.
She also confirmed to continue as ODI captain and believes to step down from T20I captain will help cultivate new leaders.
“I’m not ready to give up ODI captaincy just yet. But I won’t be around forever, so I think stepping away from captaining one format at a time gives the next leaders time to find their feet,” she added.
The women’s T20 World Cup in October will mark Sophie Devine’s final assignment as captain in the format. New Zealand has been grouped alongside Australia, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in Group A.
Sophie Devine is set to lead New Zealand for the third time in the Women’s T20I World Cup in 2024. She led New Zealand in the 2020 and 2023 editions, where they were eliminated in the group stages.
She also led the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL in the past, guiding them to the title in the 2021-22 season, and has already pre-signed ahead of the 2024-25 season.
