Star New Zealand batter announces retirement from international cricket

New Zealand opening batter Martin Guptill announced his retirement from international cricket with intentions to continue playing franchise cricket.

“As a young kid it was always my dream to play for New Zealand and I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have played 367 games for my country,” Martin Guptill who scored over 13,000 runs across international formats said in a statement to New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

“I will forever cherish the memories made wearing the silver fern alongside a great group of guys. I want to say a huge thanks to all my team-mates and coaching staff over the years, in particular Mark O’Donnell who has coached me since the Under-19 level and been a source of ongoing support and wisdom over my career.

“Finally, I’d like to thank all the cricket fans, here in NZ and around the world for all their support throughout the years.”

Martin Guptill has retired as New Zealand’s fifth-highest run scorer with 13,463 runs across formats, behind only Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming and Ross Taylor.

Read More: THESE foreign players have signed up for PSL 10 player draft

In ODI World Cup 2015, Martin Guptill finished as the leading scorer with 547 runs as the Brendon McCullum-led team co-hosted the event and finished as runners-up.

He went on to smash 237 off 163 deliveries against the West Indies during the tournament, which is still the highest individual score in a world cup match and second-highest in ODIs overall.

It may be noted here that Martin Guptil is among the dozens of foreign players who have signed up for Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 players draft set to be held in Lahore on January 13.