Australia’s Twenty20 captain, Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from T20Is. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and now there will be a new captain when the team plays their next match later this year.
He retired from one-day international cricket in September but remained captain of the T20 side for last year’s unsuccessful World Cup defense on home soil.
According to an interview with the player, he felt the time was right for his retirement. “The time is right to let the T20 team enter a new phase, to give them enough time and space to allow a new captain to take over and move in a new direction,” Finch said.
“Realizing that I won’t be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment to step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event.”
While the player has retired from the T20 format, Finch will continue to play for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Our World Cup winning, longest serving men’s T20I captain has called time on a remarkable career.
Thanks for everything @AaronFinch5 🤝 pic.twitter.com/cVdeJQmCXN
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 6, 2023
Finch’s T20 Accomplishments
Finch made his T20I debut in 2011 and played 103 matches for Australia. In the course of his T20 career, Finch has become Australia’s longest-serving captain in the shortest format of the game. Finch had captained Australia in 73 T20s, leading Australia to its breakthrough T20 World Cup triumph in 2021.
In addition, Finch holds the world record for the highest individual score in a T20 international, having scored 156 against England in 2013 before beating his record with a knock of 172 against Zimbabwe five years later – Finch also holds two of the three highest scores in T20 international cricket.
In his international career Finch amassed more than 8,500 runs across all three forms of the game, including five Test matches and 146 ODIs.
When the player announced his retirement from the T20Is, there were plenty of people who had something to say about Finch. Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley paid tribute to Finch, calling the two-time World Cup winner a “master tactician, a natural born leader and an amazing influence on up and coming players”.
According to an interview with Cricket Australia (CA) chair Lachlan Henderson, he said Finch will always have a special place in Australian cricket history.
“Playing at the highest level for over a decade requires incredible determination and dedication, so we thank Aaron for his enormous contribution and wish him all the best in the next phase of his career,” Henderson said.
Potential Captain Replacement
While Finch’s retirement means that Australia needs to appoint a new T20I captain, there is no rush. The team’s next match will be a tour to South Africa in late August. Additionally, there are no notable candidates for the position.
Finch suggested that CA could look outside the current leadership group to find his successor and put forward the names of Travis Head and Ashton Turner. According to one interview, Finch said, “-these types of guys are experienced, they know how to win as well, so whichever way they [selectors] go, the team is in great hands.”