Scotland's Kyle Coetzer Decided To Leave Captaincy After The World Cup

Scotland men's cricket team captain Kyle Coetzer has decided to relinquish his captaincy after their ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series match against the UAE, here on Friday.

Coetzer debuted for Scotland in 2008 and has captained his team at the U15, U17, and U19 levels, including the 2004 ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh. He took over Scotland's reins in 2013 when Gordon Drummond stepped down.

Friday's League 2 game between Scotland and UAE will be Coetzer's 214th international appearance and his 110th as captain. Scotland are currently second in the League 2 Standings.

The 38-year-old also boasts of being their highest run-scorer in ODIs with 2867 runs in 73 matches at an average of 42.79. He was named ICC's Associate Cricketer of the Decade last year. He is also Scotland's third most capped player in cricket history. He also has more wins than any other Scottish captain and led his team when they qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021.

Although Coetzer will be stepping down from captaincy, he has expressed the desire to continue playing the game. His successor will be appointed before Scotland's next series in July against Namibia and Nepal.

"I have thought long and hard about my decision to step down as captain of the Scotland men's side and have decided this test against the UAE will be my last at the helm," ICC quoted Coetzer as saying in a statement.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to lead this group through various stages in our growth and development and captain my country and I will look back on the time with such fondness. I'm extremely proud of where we have got to and I'm even more excited with where this team can go under its next leader," he added.

The veteran cricketer said that achieving automatic qualification for the World Cup is a real motivation for him going forward.

"We have one more game in the USA and I plan to get my head down and try to enjoy the occasion. We've still got points to pick up in the next couple of series and heading towards the World Cup qualifier, we want to ensure we achieve automatic qualification for the qualifying tournament, which is a real motivation for me," he said.

"I'm extremely proud and thankful for all the efforts of my teammates and everyone who has helped me along the way. It's been a great journey so far and there's going to be some more exciting cricket to play yet," he added.

Cricket Scotland Interim Head of Performance Toby Bailey congratulated Coetzer on a successful captaincy career.

"On behalf of all of Cricket Scotland, the coaching staff, men's team, and Scottish cricketing community, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to Kyle for all he has done during his time as captain," Bailey said.

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"An incredible leader and cricketing talent, Kyle has made an unforgettable contribution to the game in Scotland, helping the team progress over the years and inspiring others. We are all looking forward to seeing what Kyle continues to do on the field as a player and wish him all the very best for this next chapter," he added.