Williamson steps down as NZ's white-ball captain, declines national contract
Christchurch (PTI): New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Wednesday decided to forego his national contract for the 2024-25 season and also stepped down from white-ball captaincy to extend his international career, following the Black Caps' shock early exit from the T20 World Cup.
"Helping push the team forward across the formats is something I'm very passionate about and something I want to keep contributing towards," the 33-year-old said in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) release on Wednesday.
"However, pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer means I'm unable to accept a central contract offer."
The Black Caps have very little international cricket scheduled during the January window and Williamson, who had stepped down from Test captaincy in December 2022, will be available to play all three formats outside that month.
"Playing for New Zealand is something I treasure, and my desire to give back to the team remains undiminished," he said.
"My life outside cricket has changed, however. Spending more time with my family and enjoying experiences with them at home or abroad is something that's even more important to me."
The Black Caps are scheduled to compete in eight Tests, including a tour of India and then a three-match home series against England in November-December, before Christmas.
There are a number of T20 leagues such as UAE's ILT20, South Africa's SA20, Australia's BBL and Bangladesh's BPL which are set to clash in January. New Zealand's Super Smash could also be scheduled during the same time period.
The leagues will be followed by the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February-March.
Players accepting the NZC central contracts must be available for both international and the domestic Super Smash competition.
NZC CEO Scott Weenink said Williamson has earned the right to take some time off to pursue other goals, including family-oriented priorities.
"This is a good way to help keep Kane in the international game so that he continues to play a major role for the BLACKCAPS – both now and in the years to come," said Weenink.
"We have very little international cricket in New Zealand through January and outside that period he’s still available for the BLACKCAPS.
"NZC has a strong preference to select centrally contracted players for the BLACKCAPS, however we’re happy to make an exception for our greatest ever batter – especially as he remains so committed to the team. I know it sounds a bit counterintuitive, but I’m very encouraged by this development."
An all-format player who is considered one of the greats of modern day cricket, Williamson has been the Black Caps batting mainstay for over a decade, having played over 350 internationals.
Williamson has played 100 Tests, 165 ODI caps and 93 T20I caps. He also led New Zealand in 40 Tests, 91 ODIs and 75 T20Is.
New Zealand reached three finals with Williamson in the side -- the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, the 2021 T20 World Cup and the inaugural World Test Championship final, which they won. Williamson led the Black Caps in three of those four tournaments.
Pacer Lockie Ferguson, who has played a Test, 65 ODIs and 42 T20Is, has also indicated that he won't accept a central contract offer. He had become only the second bowler and first in T20 World Cups to bowl four maidens in a men's T20I when he returned with figures of 4-4-0-3 against Papua New Guinea.
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Scaler's AI and Business UG Program Redefines Undergraduate Education
A Four-Year Residential Program Blending Artificial Intelligence, Product Innovation, and Entreprene
The higher education landscape in India is going through a fundamental change with the introduction of the new undergraduate program in AI and Business by the Scaler School of Technology. This is a four-year full-time residential program intended to prepare students for careers at the intersection of AI, product development and entrepreneurship. The program combines technical and management education in a single curriculum and the establishment of businesses is included in the core requirements of the program.
The vision underpinning the program, articulated by Anshuman Singh (former engineering manager at Facebook Messenger), states that "the world has changed dramatically in the last decade, as AI tools have significantly improved the speed at which products can be developed, and the nature of innovation is very different from what we saw before the advent of AI technologies". Singh also remarks "Today's creators aren't just capable of using tools, they also need to have an understanding of system design, problem definition/selection and sustainable business practices". Therefore, the program is focused on providing students with an experiential learning opportunity where they will build, test and improve real-world products on a consistent basis throughout their studies.
The educational program features a stepwise-based learning framework. The first year involves developing the foundations of the computer programming disciplines, mathematics for artificial intelligence, communicative ability, and logical thought patterns through hands-on projects. The second year includes learning about production systems, artificial intelligence models, data pipeline design and implementation, and business fundamentals. In their third year, students gain experience by working with many startups through the Scaler Innovation Lab to develop product lines, evaluate growth measures, and identify operational challenges faced by new technology companies.
In the fourth and final year of the program, each student enters "Founders Mode," where they will each create and attempt to build and grow an AI-focused startup. The graduates of the program will have the opportunity to receive guidance from mentors from companies such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and NVIDIA. Graduates of the program will also benefit from Scaler's network of employers and connection to Amazon and Microsoft for job placement, and they will have the option to delay the start of their careers in order to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The program has limited class sizes, strong support from the technology industry, and aims to produce future-minded and capable founders and executives who are both technically proficient and knowledgeable about running a business.
