Martin Guptill Laments New Zealand Retirement, Says "Decisions Have Been Made..."

After being retired from international cricket, former New Zealand opening batter Martin Guptill feels he had more to contribute to the national side and expressed "a little bit of disappointment with how it all ended." The 38-year-old batter, who gave back his contract to pursue playing opportunities elsewhere in late 2022, officially confirmed his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday. He played 367 games (198 ODIs, 122 T20Is, 47 Tests) for the Black Caps, scoring 23 international centuries across the three formats.

He finished his 14-year international career (2009 to 2022) as New Zealand's leading T20I run-scorer with 3,531 from 122 T20I matches, and his 7,346 ODI runs placed him third on the ODI list behind Ross Taylor and Stephen Fleming.

"I guess it is what it is, and the decisions that have been made around it. Obviously I would have loved to have played a lot more, I feel like I had a lot more to give New Zealand Cricket and the Black Caps. But it is what it is. I'm a little bit disappointed with how it all ended, but I've got to move forward and move on," Guptill was quoted by New Zealand Herald.

Guptill burst onto the international scene in 2009 when he became the first New Zealander to score a century on ODI debut, against the West Indies at Eden Park. Moreover, he was the first New Zealander to score an ODI double-century at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, when he smashed 237 not out in the quarterfinal win over the West Indies at Wellington Stadium.

That innings, along with his unbeaten 189 against England in Southampton in 2013, and his 180 not out against South Africa at Hamilton in 2017, rank as three of New Zealand's top four individual ODI scores.

Guptill also scored two T20I hundreds: 101