Sophie Devine To Step Down As T20I Captain Of The White Ferns

Sophie Devine in New Zealand colours [X]Sophie Devine in New Zealand colours [X]

Sophie Devine is considered one of legends from the New Zealand women cricket team. Devine has earned her reputation as one of the master of the T20 format as she has a great power game. Incidentally, she has been leading the New Zealand women team, also known as the White Ferns, in ODIs and T20Is so far. But in an latest press release by New Zealand cricket, it has been confirmed that Devine has decided to step down from her role as the T20I captain.

Sophie Devine's T20 Captaincy record

As per the release, Devine will give up the role after the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup. She first took up the role in 2014-15, where she led the team in a handful of games before being the permanent skipper in 2020. So far in her stint, she has captained the White Ferns in 56 T20Is, out of which the team has won 25, lost 28 and one game has ended in a tie. 

Devine explained about here decision

Here is what Devine said about her decision. 

"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.  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."

Notably, Devine will continue to lead the team in the ODI format. 

"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" - said Devine.

Sophie Devine's international career

Sophie Devine made her debut for the New Zealand Women's team in 2006. Since then, Devine has played 147 ODIs and 135 T20Is for them. She has more than 3,000 runs and 100 wickets in both the formats.

The experience and all-round ability of Devine make her one of the valuable members of the White Ferns team.