Kyle Coetzer led Scotland in 110 matches across two formats and has been their most prolific batter with 4735 runs in international cricket. On May 3, the 38-year-old announced that he will resign as the team’s captain after their World Cup Super League division two fixture against the UAE.
Scotland made some big strides under the leadership of Coetzer, making it to the main round of the T20 World Cup in 2021. He captained his country in 110 out of his total 214 appearances. In a recent media interaction, he said that he believes this is the right time to step away from the role and let some other player carry the baton forward.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to lead this group through various stages in our growth and development and captain my country. I’m extremely proud of where we have got to and I’m even more excited with where this team can go under its next leader,”
Coetzer was quoted as saying by ICC website.
Coetzer added that he’s been happy to see the players managing themselves well on the field and having multiple potential leaders makes this the right time to step away.
“It’s been fantastic to see how the players are managing themselves and to effectively have more than one leader out there has been a really encouraging sign for me. It was this that made me feel it was the right time to share my decision and step down,”
he said.
As an individual batter, Coetzer has had a pretty good career with 4735 runs to his name across two formats, including five hundreds and 29 fifties. He was the first-ever Scottish international to score a century in the ODI World Cup, smashing 156 against Bangladesh in 2015. The veteran added that his main focus is to score as many runs as possible for Scotland and provide support to the new skipper.
Scotland Cricket, in an official statement, said that Coetzer’s successor will be announced before the next series, slated for July against Nepal and Namibia. Team coaches will select a new captain in consultation with the board’s interim Head of Performance, Toby Bailey.
