Timing wasn't right to announce my Test retirement: Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori

New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, recalled back to the Test side after a span of two years to play the third and final Test of the just-concluded series against Pakistan at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was expected to announce his retirement from the format after the conclusion of the match.

Even captain Brendon McCullum, speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, said: “I think it's his last Test match, he said he could do more if his workload was like this Test. It's great to have his family here, he's been a great for us and we love him to bits."

Didn’t want to be in the limelight after Phillip Hughes tragedy

The veteran spinner, however, kept mum and has now revealed that he didn’t want to turn the attention of people towards him from the Phillip Hughes incident. The Australian batsman died on Thursday after being hit by a ball on his head by a bouncer from Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Shedding light on the retirement topic, he said: "I suppose the current timing, what's happened in the last few days, it doesn't feel appropriate to make a big statement, so I thought that I'd just sit back and enjoy the Test win as much as I can,"

On the surprise call from the team management, the 35-year-old said: "In my mind there wasn't any more Test cricket in the future, but I didn't think it was appropriate to retire when I had been out of the team so long. It was probably easier to just disappear, but this opportunity over the last few days has been special."

The Kiwis won the match by a whopping margin of an innings and 80 runs, only their third away victory against Pakistan in Tests, and in turn levelled the series, as well.

Vettori’s career has been plagued by injuries in the last couple of the years, which has prompted him to stop thinking about Test cricket and instead concentrate on the shorter formats of the game. The 35-year-old is expected to make the cut for the 2015 World Cup squad.