"My priority is still to play for New Zealand": Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson (Pic: File Pic)

Kane Williamson said the intention to play in next year's SA20 was the catalyst behind his declining the New Zealand central contract, but made it firm to lay for his country will be his priority in all three formats.

The SA20 is scheduled to begin from January 9 to February 8 and is clashing with the dates of New Zealand's Super Smash.

As per New Zealand's rules, if a player is eligible for a central contract and is not on any international assignment, then he has to play in Super Smash.

"I want to play as long as I can. There's a number of great competitions during that time, but SA20 looks really exciting. Unfortunately, it meant turning down a central contract", Williamson told reporters upon his arrival in New Zealand from the T20 World Cup 2024, where his side failed to enter the Super Eight stage.

Kane Williamson also stepped down from the "Black Caps" captaincy in white-ball formats, but he asserted that his international career is still far from over.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024 | "Win against WI has given confidence and momentum": Salt

"My priority still is, absolutely, playing for New Zealand. Think I might miss maybe a handful of games over a three-week period", he added.

This means Williamson might miss the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka in January. He will be available for the test against Afghanistan in September, besides the World Test Championship matches against India and Sri Lanka and the three-match series against England at home.

"It's simply the contract, the rules that currently exist meant I wasn't able to have one but in terms of playing for New Zealand I'm not missing almost any cricket really, so that was important to me", he said.

Kane Williamson said he was eagerly waiting to see how the leadership role of New Zealand evolves in white-ball formats.

"I've really, really enjoyed my time captaining and it's been a privilege and an honour to do that for a number of years. I'm excited with what's next for the team in terms of the leadership as well and looking forward to being part of that", he added.

Speaking about his retirement, Kane Williamson said it is difficult to express it in terms of a timeframe. "In terms of a timeframe, it's difficult to say. I want to keep being fit, doing as well as I can, keep trying to improve. All major events and key series are things that whet the appetite and are an exciting prospect."

"But being part of this team is so dear to me and I want to remain in that community as long as I can, and as long as I'm offering value", he said.

(With PTI Inputs)