He was the most successful and longest-serving men’s T20I captain and batter. In his retirement thought he admitted that his body is no longer capable of withstanding the strain of playing the short-format game at the top level.
Aaron Finch will continue to play in the KFC BBL and is anticipated to announce that he has extended his one-year contract with the Melbourne Renegades, where he was selected for the Team of the Year this summer as a middle-order batter. Finch will also likely look into opportunities to play in international T20 tournaments around the world.
However, he leaves international cricket having played nearly 250 white-ball matches and five Tests for his nation over the course of a 12-year career after stepping down from his position as captain of Australia’s ODI team last year following a much-publicized struggle for form in the 50-over arena.
Being its most capped skipper (76 matches), Finch is the only male Australian player to date to have played in more than 100 T20 Internationals. In addition, in 2021, he led his side to the country’s first T20 World Cup victory in the UAE.
The 36-year-old bats for Australia and holds the record for the highest T20I score ever, a mind-blowing 172 off 76 balls faced against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018. He has also amassed more runs (3120) than any other Australian batsman, surpassing his longtime opening partner David Warner (2894).
Finch states that although though he established the record for the greatest T20I score, his most treasured 20-over performance was the 156 he smashed off 63 balls against England at Southampton in 2013.
Two-time World Cup winner Aaron Finch has announced his immediate retirement from all forms of international cricket.
A legend of limited overs. Thanks for everything Finchy! ❤️🇦🇺👏
MORE: https://t.co/I2HuDrcksM pic.twitter.com/lDMfGucyCc
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) February 6, 2023
“I always wanted to get through the Big Bash and re-assess after that, and I found my body was sore after a BBL game and took a couple of days to recover,” Aaron Finch said prior to making today’s retirement announcement.
“He (McDonald) said give yourself time to make a decision that’s not an emotional call, but one that’s right for you and your family.
“I feel as though that’s what I’ve done. I thought long and hard about it, but with a big break between games it gives everyone involved time to plan and prepare for the next T20 World Cup in 2024 (in the West Indies and USA) because I can’t see myself getting there at all.
“It would be doing the position and the team a disservice to play on for purely selfish reasons.
“Whoever takes over the leadership of that team, and as new opening batter, you’ve got to give them enough time and space to work into those roles and give them a great opportunity to make the team their own over the next 18 months.
“I’ve been bloody fortunate to play for 12 years, and I think the team’s in a really good spot now for me to move on.”