‘Disappointing how it ended’ – Martin Guptill unhappy how international retirement came his way

‘Disappointing how it ended’ – Martin Guptill unhappy how international retirement came his way. (Photo Source: Blackcaps/X)

New Zealand’s legendary opening batter Martin Guptill announced his retirement on Wednesday, January 08. The 38-year-old swashbuckling batter has bid adieu to all the formats of the game in international cricket. The right-hander relinquished his central contract where and will be focusing on T20 franchise leagues going forward in his cricketing journey.

Though it has been an incredible career, the cricketer has shown a bit of disappointment with how his career ended and said he would have liked to play more for the national side but has also accepted that he has to move forward. The last white ball match Guptill played in New Zealand kits was in 2022 and has failed to make it back in the squad ever since.

“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 BlackCaps, It’s disappointing how it ended, but I’ve got to move forward,” said Guptill as quoted by India Today.

Also Read: Martin Guptill retires from international cricket

Guptill also reflected on his Test career where even though he had some great moments in red-ball cricket, he still could not have a long career. One of the biggest highlights of his Test career was his knock of 189 which he scored against Bangladesh in Hamilton. Guptill revealed that he tried to establish himself at the top of the order and gave it his best shot, but is still proud of his journey in the game.

“I had the opportunity to keep batting at five, but I wanted to go back to the top. I’ve got no regrets; I gave it a good shot, One of my proudest moments was to get a black cap, and that sits proudly at home,” he concluded.

Guptill represented the BlackCaps in 367 international matches, which includes 47 Test matches, 198 ODIs, and 122 T20Is. He is also the fifth-highest run scorer for New Zealand with 13463 runs across formats to his name and has the record for the highest individual score in a World Cup match where he scored 237 against West Indies in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup and is a two-time World Cup finalist.