'Want to keep playing cricket for as long as I can' - Ross Taylor sidelines retirement thoughts after New Zealand's WTC triumph

Veteran batsman Ross Taylor played a pivotal role in taking New Zealand to the prestigious ICC World Test Championship title. In the final clash against India, the right-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 47 in the fourth innings and the Kiwis won the contest by eight wickets and became world champions. In fact, the winning boundary also came from Taylor’s blade. However, the biggest question is how far the talismanic cricketer will go now in his career.

Ageing 37, the New Zealand star is indeed in the twilight of his career and he’s aware of the fact. In an interaction, Taylor indicated taking a major decision on his career in the coming days. The veteran, who’s currently serving isolation, said he has a period dedicated to his family coming up and this could play a major role in his decision making.

“The next focus is to get through the next 10 days or so [of isolation] as quick as possible, just looking forward to seeing the family and friends. I’m sure over the coming weeks those discussions – we’ll have them and [with] New Zealand Cricket as well,” Nzherald.co.nz quoted Taylor as per saying.

I still want to learn and get better: Ross Taylor

“[I’m] still loving the game of cricket, still want to learn and get better so I think that’s a good sign. At this stage, I just want to keep playing cricket, whatever level that is for as long as I can,” he added.

Taylor has indeed aged like fine wine and his performance in the last few years narrates the entire story. However, injuries have hindered Taylor’s 2021 season. He sustained a hamstring injury during the home ODI series against Bangladesh in March, which then contributed to a calf niggle in early May. Hence, fitness concerns might play a crucial role in determining Taylor’s future.

Meanwhile, the veteran cricketer has indeed been one of the most prominent servants of New Zealand. So far, he has mustered 7565, 8576, 1909 runs in 108 Tests, 233 ODIs, and 102 T20Is respectively. Notably, he is the only cricketer to play over 100 matches in all three international formats. Hence, it would be interesting to see how far he goes.