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Veteran New Zealand cricketer, Sophie Devine on Friday, August 30th announced that she will step down as the T20I skipper after the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be played in October in the UAE. The 34-year-old all-rounder, who has led the White Ferns in 56 T20Is, while announcing her decision also confirmed that she will focus on playing and nurturing future leaders.
“I'm very proud to have had the privilege to captain the White Ferns in both formats. With captaincy comes an additional workload that, while I’ve enjoyed taking on, can also be challenging at times. Stepping away from the T20 captaincy will take a bit off my plate so I can focus more of my energy on my playing role and nurturing the future leaders,” Devine said in a statement.
Sophie Devine to continue leading New Zealand Women in ODIs
However, the 34-year-old asserted that she would continue to lead the side in the 50-over format. “I’m not ready to give up ODI captaincy just yet. But I won’t be around forever, so I think stepping away from captaining one format at a time gives the next leaders time to find their feet,” the all-rounder said in a statement.
It is to be noted that Sophie Devine has led White Ferns in 56 T20Is, winning 25 matches, losing 28 games, while one match has ended in a tie. She also led the national team in a few games from 2014-15 before taking the complete charge from Amy Satterthwaite in 2020.
Speaking of New Zealand’s campaign at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, the White Ferns are placed in Group A alongside six-time champions, Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Sophie Devine-led side will kickstart their campaign against India on October 4 in Dubai, before taking Australia (October 8), Sri Lanka (October 12) and Pakistan (October 14).
