The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand team didn’t have a great campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. New Zealand’s early exit is one of the surprising moments of the group stage. They lost the first two matches against Afghanistan and West Indies, which was enough to kick them out of the tournament. Though New Zealand ended the tournament with two consecutive wins, it was too late for them.
New Zealand’s exit has certainly raised questions about the senior players of the team. The veteran left-arm pacer Trent Boult also announced that this was his last T20 World Cup for New Zealand. He played his last match against PNG on Monday. After his decision, some questions were also asked from Kane Williamson about his retirement plans or how long he will serve New Zealand in the shorter format. However, the captain was unsure about anything.
T20 World Cup 2024: Kane Williamson is unsure about T20 World Cup 2026.
Not many thought that New Zealand would be eliminated from the group stage. They are one of the most consistent teams in the ICC events. Under Kane Williamson, New Zealand reached three white-ball ICC finals in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and then in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Then, he also led New Zealand to win the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. But here, New Zealand’s campaign ended very early.
During the press conference, he was asked whether he would return to the next T20 World Cup in 2026. He was asked, “When asked if he’d return for the 2026 edition, Williamson answered, “Oh, I don’t know.” This was the worst tournament for New Zealand under Williamson. This was the first time in the last decade that New Zealand couldn’t make it to the semi-finals of the white-ball ICC event. Meanwhile, Boult has already confirmed his retirement plans, and all eyes will be on Williamson.
However, Kane Williamson talked about this campaign and pointed out where they lacked. He said that it was frustrating that after only two games they were eliminated, and he highlighted that the opponents in the first two games were equipped well as per the conditions. Williamson also added that the conditions were challenging, but the players would learn a few new things here and will be looking to apply them in the future. Furthermore, he said that there is a two-year time for the next T20 World Cup, and the team will regroup and come up with the best plan.
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