After Women's T20 World Cup, Sophie Devine Is To Step Down As T20I Captain For New Zealand

Veteran all-rounder to keep leading the White Ferns in ODIs even after resigning from T20I captaincy

Sophie Devine announces her decision to resign as New Zealand's T20I captain following the forthcoming World Cup /

By Mohamed Bahaa

Following the forthcoming Women's T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), seasoned New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine has revealed her intention to step down as T20I captain. The 34-year-old will continue to captain the White Ferns in One Day Internationals (ODIs), a post she is not ready to give up just yet even though she is removing her role in the T20 format.

Having guided the White Ferns in 56 T20I games, Devine's tenure features 25 wins, 28 losses, and one tie. Her leadership career started in 2014–2015 when she captained a few games, but with Amy Satterthwaite's departure she completely acquired the responsibility in 2020. Devine decided to resign from T20I captaincy in order to lighten her obligations and open the path for next team 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,” Devine said in a message on her Instagram page. "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 is leaving the T20 captaincy, but she has no immediate intentions to give her ODI captaincy back-off. She is still dedicated to guiding the team in that formateven with the 50-over World Cup scheduled in India next year. "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," She said.

On Friday, October 4th, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, New Zealand will start their T20 World Cup campaign with Devine leading the White Ferns for one last time in the T20 format.