Ex-Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson declines to sign central contract for New Zealand - Here's why

Former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has said no to a central contract for the second time in a row. The batter instead will be signing a casual contract which frees him up for the T20 leagues around the world. The announcement came as New Zealand Cricket revealed the list of centrally contracted players on Tuesday (June 3) which did not include Williamson's name.

“Just a work in progress and New Zealand Cricket have been great with working with that and I've been fortunate throughout,” Williamson had said about his casual contract in a press conference last month.

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The former Kiwi skipper is currently playing county cricket in England for Middlesex and is expected to miss two-Test tour of Zimbabwe next month which may end up clashing with his county commitments. He will also take part in The Hundred for London Spirits.

Last year, Williamson had played nine of 13 Tests played by New Zealand and had scored more than 1,000 runs. He is considered one of the greatest to ever play for the Blackcaps with 9,276 runs in 105 red-ball games at an average of nearly 55 and 33 tons as well.

Williamson is also one of the Fab Four - modern day great batters - along with Aussie Steve Smith, Englishman Joe Root and India's Virat Kohli who retired last month.

New Zealand Cricket, meanwhile, has included four new faces in the central contract list including a replacement for veteran bowler Tim Southee who retired in December last year.

“The contracts with Mitch, Muhammad, Adi and Zak reflect the incredible talent coming through our system,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink said as reported by news agency PTI.

“These players have shown they can compete at the highest level and their hunger to represent the Black Caps is exciting. We're thrilled to see this group drive our team forward,” he added.