(AFP Photo)

Kane Williamson explained that his decision to decline a New Zealand central contract was primarily driven by his commitment to participate in next year’s SA20 tournament. However, he emphasized that his primary allegiance remains with representing his country on the global stage.

The SA20 is slated to take place from January 9 to February 8, 2025, overlapping with the dates of New Zealand’s Super Smash competition.

According to New Zealand regulations, players must participate in the Super Smash unless they are engaged in international duties to maintain eligibility for a central contract.

“I want to play as long as I can. There’s a number of great competitions during that time, but SA20 looks really exciting. Unfortunately, it meant turning down a central contract,” Williamson told reporters.

For more than ten years, the 33-year-old batsman has been a crucial presence in New Zealand cricket, playing a key role in his team’s success. He has helped guide them to the semi-finals in seven out of the ten World Cups he has participated in for the Kiwis across both formats since 2011.

The batsman reiterated that his decision to decline a central contract does not indicate any waning desire to compete in international cricket for New Zealand.

“My priority still is, absolutely, playing for New Zealand. Think I might miss maybe a handful of games over a three-week period,” he added.

“It’s simply the contract, the rules that currently exist meant I wasn’t able to have one but in terms of playing for New Zealand I’m not missing almost any cricket really, so that was important to me.”

Williamson’s absence from the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka in January next year is notable. However, he remains committed to playing the one-off Test against Afghanistan in September, as well as the upcoming WTC fixtures against India and Sri Lanka away, and the home series against England.

After New Zealand’s disappointing exit in the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2024, Williamson stepped down from captaincy duties in both T20Is and ODIs. Nonetheless, the influential batsman expressed keen interest in observing how leadership within New Zealand evolves in limited-overs formats.

“I’ve really, really enjoyed my time captaining and it’s been a privilege and an honour to do that for a number of years.

“I’m excited with what’s next for the team in terms of the leadership as well and looking forward to being part of that,” he added.