Santner rejects BBL deal to focus on New Zealand schedule

New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner said he turned down a lucrative offer from the Big Bash League to focus on the international schedule.

“The offer ​was good, I’m not going to lie,” the 34-year-old told ‌the New Zealand Herald. “They knew it would have to be a good offer for me to entertain it with contracting and what would come up.

“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.”

New Zealand have home ​white-ball and test series against India and a test tour of Australia coming ​up this year.

Santner 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.

Joe Root welcomes Pietersen return to England setup

“I don’t ​want to give up captaincy,” he said. “If that was part of the deal, ​it was a no-brainer for me.

“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.

“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.”

Other players, including Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson, 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.

“There’s no judgment with guys taking casual deals,” Santner said. “We aren’t going to keep up with the ⁠money for ​some of these other opportunities going around.

“If ​it is a casual contract, that’s the way to keep guys invested and playing for New Zealand; ​that’s what we want.”