Edinburgh [Scotland]: Former Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer has announced his retirement from T20I cricket.
Coetzer recently stepped down from captaincy after an ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series match against the UAE, with Richie Berrington taking over from the 38-year-old. Coetzer, the ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Decade, has now also decided to hang up his boots from the shortest format of the game. He captained Scotland in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.
On his decision to retire, Coetzer said in a statement, “After considered discussions with Cricket Scotland and the head coach, the team would gain more from someone else playing in the upcoming T20 fixtures and the subsequent T20 World Cup.
“It was a pleasure to take part and lead my country in the previous World Cup and help Scotland qualify for this year. It was a real driving force for me to continue helping the team in any way that I could,” he added.
Coetzer further stated that he was looking forward to spending more time with his family, which would be afforded to him after his T20I retirement.
“From a personal point of view, I am looking forward to having a bit more time to spend with my family with two young daughters while also focusing on my coaching career and having more time for that. But ultimately, it is about what is best for the direction of the team going forward,” he said.
Coetzer played 70 T20Is for Scotland, scoring 1495 runs, with 6 fifties. He led Scotland in 41 of those matches, registering 20 wins.
Coetzer will only be available for the upcoming one-off ODI against New Zealand at home. Scotland will also host New Zealand for two T20Is.
Scotland announced an 18-member squad for the series, which will begin with the T20Is on July 27. All the matches will be played in Edinburgh.
Squad: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross (wk), Kyle Coetzer, Ali Evans, Chris Greaves, Oliver Hairs, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, Chris McBride, George Munsey, Adrian Neill, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt. (ANI)