Australia T20 skipper Finch retires from internationals

MELBOURNE: Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch announced his retirement from internationals on Tuesday, putting an end to a career that gave him more than 8,000 runs in all formats.

The 36-year-old was a hard-hitting opener batsman who specialised in limited overs. He retired from the ODI team in September and took the home summer to think about his T20 future after Australia’s bid to defend its World Cup title fell short in the semi-finals.

In the domestic Big Bash League, he had a great tournament. He hit 428 runs at an average of 38.9, which helped the Melbourne Renegades make the playoffs for the first time in three years.

But that wasn’t enough to get Finch to keep playing for Australia.

Finch said in a statement that it was a huge honour to play for Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the best players of all time.

“Team success is why you play the game, and winning the first T20 World Cup in 2021 and the ODI World Cup at home in 2015 will be the two things I remember most fondly.”

He will end his career with 5,406 runs in ODIs at an average of 38.89 and 3,120 runs in T20s at an average of 34.28. He led Australia to their first T20 World Cup title in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.

As a member of Michael Clarke’s team, which won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2015, he also got to enjoy World Cup glory.