New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson on Saturday (December 5) confirmed signing a three-year deal in USA's Major League Cricket T20 and subsequently ending his international career.
Anderson, boasting of a record for the fastest ODI century in men's cricket, bids farewell to the top-level game after 13 Tests, 49 ODIs and 31 T20Is for the Black Caps.
"It's been a huge honour and extremely proud to represent New Zealand," Cricbuzz quoted the 29-year-old as saying. "I would have loved to have achieved and played more but just is what it is sometimes, and different opportunities arise and send you in a direction you never thought would be a possibility. Very appreciative for everything that NZC has done for me."
The highly promising cricketer was plagued by injuries throughout his career but even more so post the 2015 World Cup. He last turned up for New Zealand back in November 2018, with his most-recent ODI and Test outings coming in 2017 and 2016, respectively.
"It hasn't been an easy decision (to quit internationally). I asked myself several questions. What do I want to do now or what do I want to achieve in the next two years, five years, 10 years?" Anderson said.
"As you get older you think about life a little bit more broadly as well. And obviously, my fiance, Mary Margaret, who's born and raised in America, she's had a massive part to play in that because she's sacrificed so much for me."
"So, when the opportunity arose, we thought that living in America is the best thing, not only for my cricket, but it's, it's the best thing for both of us in general as well."
This is the third high-profile signing made by Major League Cricket, which had earlier roped in Pakistan's Sami Aslam and South Africa's Dane Piedt. The contract, reported Cricbuzz, requires Anderson "to play Major and Minor League Cricket and undertake coaching activities at MLC's chain of cricket academies".
