New Zealand great Martin Guptill brought down the curtains on his illustrious international career. A top order batsman, he plied his trade for New Zealand in all three formats and was one of the best openers in the world for the better part of his career.
Martin Guptill made his New Zealand debut in January 2009 during the home ODI series against West Indies. In February of the same year, he made his T20I debut before playing his first Test the very next month.
He last played for New Zealand in 2022. Overall, the right-handed batsman represented the Black Caps in over 350 games across the three formats. He has played 198 ODIs, 122 T20s and 47 Tests for his national team. Guptill has scored 3531 runs in T20Is and holds the record for most T20I runs by a New Zealand player.
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In ODIs, he has scored 7346 runs and is third in the list of most ODI runs by New Zealand behind his former teammates. Ross Taylor and Stephen Fleming. In Tests, he scored 2586 runs. Guptill has hit a total of 23 centuries across formats in addition to 76 half-centuries.
“As a child it was always my dream to play for New Zealand and I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have played 367 matches for my country,” said Martin Guptill.
“I will forever cherish the memories made wearing the silver fern with a great group of guys.
“I want to say a huge thank you to all my teammates and coaching staff over the years, especially Mark O'Donnell, who has coached me since Under 19 level and has been a source of constant support and wisdom throughout my career.” he added.
Speaking further, Guptill said: “To my wife Laura and our beautiful children Harley and Teddy – thank you. Thank you Laura for the sacrifices you have made for me and our family. You have been my biggest supporter, my rock and my mentor through all the ups and downs that come with the game. I am eternally grateful.
“Finally, I'd like to thank all the cricket fans here in NZ and around the world for all their support over the years.”
While Guptill has retired from international cricket, he will continue to play domestic cricket and T20 franchise cricket. He is currently leading the Auckland Aces in the ongoing Super Smash.
Martin Guptill's Illustrious Career:
That Martin Guptill was destined for great things became abundantly clear when he became the first New Zealander to score a century on ODI debut in 2009. He achieved the feat against the West Indies at Eden Park. Martin Guptill made it to the ICC's World ODI XI in the same year.
Later in 2015, he also became the first player from his country to score an ODI double century. Guptill holds the record for three of New Zealand's top four individual ODI scores. He also scored two centuries in the shortest format of the game in addition to three Test centuries.
Overall, he scored over 13000 runs in international cricket for New Zealand while representing them from 2009 to 2022.
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