Colin Munro formally retires from international cricket

Colin Munro has announced his retirement from international cricket after missing out on New Zealand's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.

Munro had made himself available for the upcoming T20 World Cup despite not playing an international for New Zealand since 2020 and was in consideration. New Zealand coach Gary Stead confirmed that Munro was discussed at the selection table when the squad was announced but said there was no room for the veteran left-hander.

Despite making the move to play franchise cricket full-time over the last four years, Munro had not given up on adding to his 123 caps for New Zealand. But at 37, he has formally called time on his international career although he will continue playing franchise cricket.

"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 played one Test, 57 ODIs and 65 T20Is for New Zealand. He excelled in the shortest form scoring three centuries, including a 47-ball hundred against West Indies in 2018 which was a New Zealand record at the time. He also has made a 14-ball half-century against Sri Lanka which remains a Black Caps record and is the fourth fastest in T20I cricket.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink said Munro would be remembered as a pioneering short-form batter for New Zealand.

"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."