New Delhi: Former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has signed a ‘casual playing agreement’ for the 2025/26 season, the second time in a row. Other than Williamson, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Seifert, and Finn Allen also signed the new agreement to make themselves available for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Williamson, Conway, Ferguson, and Seifert have been offered the casual playing agreement for the second consecutive season. Whereas the Kiwi cricket board offered the agreement to Allen for the first time. In the last season, Allen turned down the central contract just like the other four players, but didn’t receive the new agreement last year. Now, Allen has been offered a new contract for the upcoming season.
What is a casual playing agreement?
The casual playing agreement is an alternate policy to the central contract. In the annual bond, players will have to make themselves available whenever the cricket board demands, but in the new casual playing agreement, players can pick and choose the events or matches they want to be part of on their side or not.
The casual playing agreement offers flexibility to the Kiwi players and permits them to be available for franchise cricket all over the world. The only condition for the new agreement is that players have to remain available for the major series and ICC events.
“To be eligible for the casual playing agreement, the players were required to commit themselves to the BLACKCAPS upcoming ICC T20 World Cup campaign, including being available for a specified number of series and games in the build-up to the tournament in India in February and March,” a statement from New Zealand Cricket read.
Players will be in the New Zealand cricket setup and receive the regularised coaching, medical assistance, and other cricket facilities from the players, as laid out in the new agreement.
New Zealand will begin its preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 with a home series against Australia, followed by England and the West Indies. All players except Williamson are available for selection for all three high-profile series.
Williamson opted out of the Australia series selection but is likely to be available for the England and West Indies series. The right-hand batter is yet to play a T20I game for the Kiwis since the T20I World Cup 2024.