The hard-hitting batsman had a chequered history of alcohol-
related incidents, including badly gashing his hand after trying to break a window of a toilet at a Christchurch bar in 2008.
"In my younger years I was a wild child but I've chilled out a bit," Ryder told Code Sports.
"Being in the spotlight wasn't my thing," Ryder said. "Outdoor cricket always had a lot of other pressures. The media always got a hold of me. It got to a point that I couldn't really be bothered any more."
"I've got no regrets," he told Code Sports. "I got a double hundred against India and did OK."
Ryder made a comeback attempt in 2012-13 after giving up alcohol, excelling at the domestic level but felt he didn't get another chance at making the Black Caps again.
"There's a period there where I was two years sober and I tried to get back in the team and they didn't give me an opportunity," Ryder said. "That was my period where I was actually dominating domestic outdoor cricket and I wanted to have one more crack while I had such a good mindset.
"I felt that I could be one of the top batters in the world, but I didn't get the chance."
Indoor cricket has always been special to Ryder after first playing the game as a teenager in Napier.
"We spent hours down there playing as many games as we could every night," Ryder told Code Sports. "Through my teenage years indoor cricket was my main sport. I loved indoor more than outdoor."
"I just love the social aspect of it," Ryder says. "It's such a good community and I've made some awesome friends through the indoor scene. The d***head side of indoor cricket has died out."
Ryder and the New Zealand team are out to stop Australia's run of 10 straight World Cup titles going back to 1995, seven of which New Zealand were the runners-up.
"I played with their Dads and now I get to play with their sons and watch them become legends," he said.
