After the forthcoming T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start on October 3, veteran all-rounder Sophie Devine of New Zealand will resign as T20I captain. The 34-year-old made it clear that she has no plans to resign from her ODI captaincy and that all three of the formats—especially T20Is—will see her selected.
Devine stated that managing her workload was the main factor in her decision to retire. She has captained the team in 56 Twenty20 international matches, 25 of which New Zealand has won and one that resulted in a draw.
Sophie Devine acknowledged the news in a statement, saying she was honoured to be the team’s captain in both white-ball formats.
She also discussed the significance of developing the next generation of leaders, which is one of the motivations for her resignation. “I’m incredibly honoured to have been the White Ferns’ captain in both formats. Being captain comes with an extra workload, which I’ve liked taking on but can also be difficult at times.
Resigning from the T20 captaincy will free up some time for me to devote more of my energies to my playing career and developing the next generation of leaders,” Devine stated in a New Zealand Cricket statement.
“I’m not quite ready to step down from my ODI captaincy. However, I believe that taking a break from leading one format at a time will allow the future leaders some opportunity to establish themselves because I won’t be around forever,” she continued.
On September 19, New Zealand will play Australia in a three-match Twenty20 International series. Following that, they had warm-up matches against South Africa and Bangladesh before the major tournament. The Devine-led team will play Pakistan (October 14), Australia (October 8), Sri Lanka (October 12), and India (October 4) in the T20 World Cup.
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The top two groups advance to the semi-finals, which are scheduled for October 17 and October 18, respectively. The final will take place in Dubai on October 20.
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