New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, 36, has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket spanning just over a decade. He cited the fitness issues and the increasing competition in the national side as the major factors behind his call.
“I accept I’m not getting any younger and that the training is getting harder, particularly with the injuries,”
he said in a statement released by New Zealand Cricket.
“I also have a growing family and am trying to understand what my future looks like post-cricket. All of this has been on my mind over the past few weeks.
“I’ve loved being part of this team over the past decade and am grateful for the experiences we’ve shared together. I’ve made many lasting friendships with team-mates, coaching staff and opponents, and will treasure the memories for the rest of my life.”
Grandhomme first represented New Zealand in a T20I against Zimbabwe in Auckland in 2012, and went on to play 41 games in the format till September 2021, aggregating 505 runs at a strike-rate of 138.35, while bagging 12 wickets.
He scored 742 runs and bagged 30 wickets in 45 ODIs between March 2012 and April 2022, while playing his part in New Zealand’s runners-up finish at the 2019 World Cup. In the final at Lord’s, the player returned 1/25 from 10 overs, while dismissing Joe Root with his gentle medium pace.
His Test debut came relatively late – against Pakistan in Christchurch in November 2016 – but he made an instant impression, returning 6/41 in the first innings, including the wickets of Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafique and a young Babar Azam. Overall, he scored 1432 runs at 38.70 and a strike-rate of 80.44 with two hundreds, and bagged 49 wickets at 32.95.
He was a part of New Zealand’s World Test Championship 2021 winning team that defeated India in the final. Grandhomme was picked by the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League overseas players’ draft earlier this week.
