'It was a good offer, I'm not gonna lie': Santner rejects BBL deal for NZ duties

[p]"[b]The offer was good, I'm not going ‌to lie,[/b]" the 34-year-old told the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/G6PWlrQB/"]New Zealand[/a] Herald.[/p][p]"They knew it ‌would have to be a good offer for ‌me to entertain it with contracting and what would come ‌up.[/p][p]"[b]I did entertain the thought of it, but coming ‌back to what we've got coming up, even if I'm not going to play every game of test cricket I still ‌feel like there's a role for ⁠me[/b]."[/p][p]New Zealand have home ‌white-ball and test series against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/fcOzl2uI/"]India[/a] and a test tour of ​Australia coming up this year.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/santner-mitchell/WrKSVkXJ/"]Santner[/a] said he also had to consider how playing in Australia's domestic ​Twenty20 competition would have impacted his role as captain of New Zealand's white-ball sides.[/p][p]"[b]I don't want to give ⁠up captaincy,[/b]" he ​said. "[b]If that was part of the deal, it was a no-brainer for me.[/b][/p][p]"There were chats that it could have worked. But for me, sitting without a central contract and ‌trying to captain, I don't know if that would sit right at this stage.[/p][p]"[b]We've got a World Cup next year, a T20 World Cup in New Zealand the year after. That's something I still want to be part of. And if I'm still leading the team then, awesome.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="52026c5c-90c0-46f0-a90c-13ea79922343" url="https://x.com/cricketnmore/status/2097910951043596471" social-type="twitter" /][p]Other players, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/conway-devon/IHgoblkD/"]Devon Conway[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ferguson-lockie/G2jEmFwC/"]Lockie Ferguson[/a], have opted to go on casual contracts with ‌New Zealand Cricket, allowing them to take part in ​franchise leagues while remaining available for international duty.[/p][p]"[b]There's no ‌judgment with guys taking casual deals,[/b]" Santner said.[/p][p]"We aren't going to keep up with the money for some of these other opportunities going around.[/p][p]"[b]If it is a casual contract, that's the way to keep ⁠guys invested and playing ⁠for New Zealand; that's ‌what we want.[/b]"[/p]