'I Think It's a Forced Retirement': Ex-NZ Great Believes Neil Wagner Was Made to Call Time on His Test Career

New Zealand’s former star batter Ross Taylor has suggested that fast bowler Neil Wagner’s retirement was “forced”, hinting at the possibility of unrest in the Kiwi camp.

Told that he would not be picked in the XI in the series against Australia, Wagner recently announced his retirement during an emotional press conference before the start of the first Test.

The 37-year-old Wagner, however, did take the field during the first Test as a substitute fielder and carried the drinks on occasion.

“I think it all makes sense a little bit now. There’s no sugarcoating it. I think it’s a forced retirement. If you listen to Wagner’s press conference, he was retiring, but it was after this last Test match. So he did make himself available,” Taylor said while speaking on ESPN’s Around the Wicket podcast.

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“And to see that he isn’t selected … I think I do like and you do need to plan for the future, but a one-off Test against Australia in a must-win situation, I wouldn’t be looking much further than Neil Wagner. And I’m sure the Australian batters are sleeping easy that he’s not in the side,” Taylor added.

Wagner last week called time on his 64-Test career, bowing out as the country’s fifth-highest wicket-taker with 260 victims.

Wagner was picked in the squad for the two home Tests against Pat Cummins’s Australia but was told by head coach Gary Stead that he would not play in either match.

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He fought back tears as he confirmed his retirement from international cricket alongside Stead.

“It’s been an emotional week,” Wagner said Tuesday. “It’s not easy to step away from something you’ve given so much to and got so much out of, but it’s now time for others to step up and take this team forward. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of playing test cricket for the Black Caps and am proud of everything we’ve been able to achieve as a team,” said the 37-year-old after announcing his retirement earlier.

Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Wagner migrated to New Zealand in 2008 and played a key role in his adopted nation’s rise to the world’s No 1 ranking and the inaugural World Test Championship title win in 2021.

(With PTI Inputs)