New Zealand will need some time to recover after their shocking exit from the T20 World Cup 2024, said skipper Kane Williamson. While speaking he also seemed non-committal about his return for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Kane Williamson is also considered one of the modern-day greats of cricket. With Williamson in the team, New Zealand reached four finals including the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, the 2021 T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship final where they won the title. The Kiwi`s pack was led by Kane Williamson in three out of those four tournaments.
When asked if he`d return for the 2026 edition, Williamson said: “Oh, I don`t know.” New Zealand`s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign ended with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. This was the first time, that NZ finished outside the semi-finals in 10 years.
Additionally, pacer Trent Boult already revealed that the T20 World Cup 2024 will be his last appearance for the “Black Caps” in the mega event.
“There`s a bit of time between now and then, so it`s regrouping as a side. And yeah, we`ve sort of got red ball cricket over the next year basically.
“So yeah, it`s back into some international other formats and yeah, see where things land,” he added. On New Zealand`s short campaign at the T20 World Cup 2024, the 34-year-old said “I think no matter what happens, you`re always want to do more.
“But it`s been really unique, a unique experience for all the guys. The conditions have been challenging I think for batters all around, but it`s just about trying to find a way.”
New Zealand were the last team to kickstart their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. They were out of contention for the Super Eights within the space of four days, courtesy of back-to-back losses to Afghanistan and West Indies.
“It took a long time to start, and then in a matter of days, we were sort of not in contention, which was frustrating. We wanted to start the campaign strong, and we weren`t able to do that,” Williamson said.
“We played against a couple of very strong sides who are very well equipped in these conditions and unfortunately it was the difference in our first two games and then some decent cricket in the last two, so all in all frustrating.
“But I think the learnings for certainly players that come back, perhaps to this part of the world or in some of these conditions, they`ve been somewhat challenging and so some good experiences to have going forward,” he added.
(With PTI Inputs)