Ross Taylor Comes Out of Retirement, to Represent Samoa in T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

After 3 years, New Zealand veteran cricketer Ross Taylor, who is 41-year-old has withdrawn his retirement. Now, he is going to debut not for New Zealand but for Samoa, taking part in the Asia-East Asia-Pacific T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifier starting on October 8 in Oman. This is a golden opportunity for Samoa to make it to the first major global tournament for men.

On Instagram, Taylor wrote, "It's not just a return to the sport I love, but a great honor for me to represent my roots, culture, village and family. I'm extremely excited about this opportunity. Now I will have the opportunity to give back to the game, join the team and share my experience on and off the field."

Taylor is one of the many players who have been included in the Samoa team. Players like Sean Solia are also making a comeback in the team. Players who performed well in the recent quadrangular series in Singapore have also got a place.

Ross Taylor has a Samoan passport, which he got from his mother's heritage. After playing his last match for New Zealand in April 2022, his mandatory three-year wait has now been completed, making him eligible to play for Samoa. 41-year-old Taylor has described Kilikiti, where he played in his childhood, as a big inspiration for his sports life. He has also appealed to New Zealand Cricket several times to provide more resources for the Polynesian community.

Taylor has scored more than 18,000 international runs for the Black Caps. During this, 40 centuries have come from his bat. Taylor has scored 7684 runs in 196 innings of 112 Test matches at an average of 44.16. During this, he has scored 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries. At the same time, he has scored 8602 runs in 220 innings of 236 ODI matches at an impressive average of 47.52. During this, he has scored 21 centuries and 51 half-centuries. Talking about T20, Taylor has scored 1909 runs in 94 innings of 102 international T20 matches at an average of 25.45. During this, he has scored seven half-centuries. Apart from this, he also played in seven IPL and five CPL seasons and scored around 5,000 runs worldwide.

Samoa performed brilliantly at the sub-regional level to make it to the qualifiers and defeated teams like Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Fiji. Now they will play in the nine-team tournament to be held in Oman. Apart from Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Japan will participate in this competition from the East Asia-Pacific region. Three teams will get a ticket to the T20 World Cup 2026. Strong teams like Oman, Nepal, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar and UAE will also participate in the tournament.