Martin Guptill has officially confirmed his retirement from international cricket, having last played for New Zealand in October 2022. Guptill, 38, will continue to feature in T20 leagues around the world.
Guptill is currently playing for Auckland in New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition, Super Smash, and has also registered for the PSL draft with Islamabad United having the option to retain him.
Guptill entered the international arena as a white-ball international for New Zealand, scoring 7346 runs in 198 ODIs. Only Ross Taylor (8607) and Stephen Fleming (8007) have scored more runs in the Black Caps format. In T20I cricket, he remains New Zealand’s leading run-scorer with 3531 runs in 122 matches at an average of 31.81 and a strike rate of 135.70.
Guptill also played 47 Tests between 2009 and 2016, but was not very successful in the longest format, scoring 2586 runs at 29.38.
“Growing up, it was always my dream to play for New Zealand and I feel incredibly fortunate and proud to have played 367 games for my country,” Guptill said in an NZC statement. “I will forever cherish the memories of wearing the silver fern with these great men.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to all my teammates and coaching staff over the years, especially Mark O’Donnell, who has coached me from Under-19 level and been a constant source of support and wisdom throughout my career. I want to tell you this.
“Thank you to my wife, Laura, and our beautiful children, Harley and Teddy. Thank you Laura for the sacrifices you have made for me and our family. You have been my biggest supporter, my rock and advisor through all the challenges and difficulties. Games and I am forever grateful for the down that comes with it.
“Finally, I would like to thank all our cricket fans here in New Zealand and around the world for their support over the years.”
Guptill made an immediate impact on his ODI debut when he hit 122 off 135 balls against the West Indies at Auckland in January 2009. Six years later, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 ODI World Cup at home, Guptill smashed an unbeaten 237 off 163 balls against the same opposition. Only India’s Rohit Sharma has a higher individual score in ODI cricket.
In the 2015 ODI World Cup, Guptill’s explosive hitting (he scored a chart-topping 547 runs) was instrumental in New Zealand reaching the final where they lost to Australia at the MCG.
Four years later, Guptill was in the hot seat when New Zealand lost to England in the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup at Lord’s – but not actually lost. After being caught for 19 off 18 balls in normal time, he returned to bat in the Super Over with Jimmy Neesham but was run out off the last ball as England won the title on a boundary count.
It was addressed to Guptill and his New Zealand teammates. “Neesham hit very well and if Guppy was going to be the man in the situation, we would have supported him all week,” Taylor said. cricket monthly Talking about that nerve-wracking ending. “But you know, Archer bowled very well and Roy bowled a good ball to Buttler. But at the same time, I was disappointed as a team, I was disappointed with my team-mates and Guptill, but hopefully he’s still proud of what he did. It gets us there and we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves about it.”
Guptill may not have been at his best with the bat in the 2019 ODI World Cup, but he was certainly at his best in the rainy semi-final against India. He fired a rocket straight after lunging at deep square leg to catch MS Dhoni short. That run-out helped New Zealand reach their second successive ODI World Cup final. Earlier in the tournament, in a league match against Australia, he blindsided Stephen Smith at leg gully to send him back.
Guptill was then part of the New Zealand team that reached the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. Guptill was also part of the squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia but did not play in the match as Finn Allen was preferred to him. .
In November 2022, Guptill gave up his New Zealand central contract to become a freelancer. Since then, he has played in the Australian Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, UAE ILT20, and Nepal Premier League.
When ‘Thank You Gup’ day was celebrated in Auckland in January last year, it felt like Guptill’s retirement party as the Eden Park Outer Oval was transformed into ‘Martin Guptill Oval’ for Super Smash exhibition games.
However, he came back with a super smash in 2024-25 and started the season with 31 off 23 balls and 60 off 35 balls for Auckland. Tom Latham, who witnessed Guptill’s most recent fifty behind the stumps for Canterbury and also opened the batting with him in New Zealand, paid tribute to the departing hero.
“Gup was world class at the time and his crisp ball striking and timing could destroy the best bowling attacks in the world,” Latham said. “His numbers speak for themselves, but what I will remember is the games he helped us win and the way he set the standard on the field. I wish him a future and hope to see him there.” “We’ll be near the cricket stadium soon.”
Guptill’s stellar Black Caps career will be recognized in the team’s third ODI against Sri Lanka at Eden Park on January 11.
