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Kane Williamson rejected a central contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to participate in the SA20.
Snippets from Kane Williamson’s training session with Durban’s Super Giants. (Picture: Instagram/
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Former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is gearing up for a blockbuster debut in the SA20 2025. The 34-year-old will play his trade for Durban’s Super Giants, having signed a direct contract with them in July 2024. He will make his debut on Friday, January 10, against the Pretoria Capitals.
The Super Giants recently shared a montage of Williamson’s training session on Instagram ahead of his maiden appearance. “Looking forward to a month of exciting cricket at the SA20 league,” the post read.
In the video, Williamson was seen rocking the Super Giants’ blue training kit. The New Zealand star was all smiles as he posed for the cameras. He performed a round of pushups before entering the nets. The Kiwi batter then displayed his wide arsenal of shots, aggressively smashing the ball in multiple directions.
Watch it here:
Last year, the veteran Kiwi batter made headlines after he turned down a central contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) for an opportunity to compete in the South African franchise tournament.
The Kiwi star even relinquished white-ball captaincy to prolong his international career. Williamson had his eyes set on competing in the SA20 which didn’t quite align with New Zealand’s rules to be eligible for a central contract.
As per New Zealand guidelines, a cricketer must compete in the Super Smash League if they are not on an international assignment, which prevented Williamson from signing a deal.
He later spoke about his decision to reporters and said, “I want to play as long as I can. There are several great competitions during that time, but SA20 looks exciting. Unfortunately, it meant turning down a central contract.”
He still desires to continue performing in a New Zealand shirt. “My priority still is playing for New Zealand. Think I might miss maybe a handful of games over three weeks,” he said. “It’s simply the contract, the rules that currently exist meant I wasn’t able to have one but in terms of playing for New Zealand I’m not missing almost any cricket, so that was important to me,” he added.
The Super Giants will be eyeing a second successive final in the third edition of the franchise league. They conceded an 89-run defeat to back-to-back winners Sunrisers Eastern Cape in 2024.
