Australia’s longest serving T20 captain has retired from international cricket

Aaron Finch – Australia’s longest-serving and most successful men’s T20I captain and batter – has called time on his international career, conceding his body can no longer withstand the rigours of the short-format game at the highest level. 

Finch will continue to play in the KFC BBL and is expected to confirm he’s signed a further one-year contract with Melbourne Renegades – where he earned Team of the Year selection as a middle-order batter this summer – and will also consider options to play in overseas T20 competitions. 

Finch is the only Australia men’s player to date to play more than 100 T20 Internationals (103), and in addition to being its most-capped skipper (76 matches) led his team to the nation’s first T20 World Cup triumph in the UAE in 2021.

The 36-year-old also holds the record for the highest T20I score among all nations – an extraordinary 172 from 76 balls faced against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2018 – and has scored more runs (3120) than any other Australia batter, ahead of his long-time opening partner David Warner (2894).

But when he injured a hamstring in Australia’s penultimate group game of their home T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland at Brisbane last November, speculation grew as to whether the hard-hitting right-hander had made his final international appearance.

While men’s team coach and Finch’s long-time confidante, Andrew McDonald, encouraged the veteran opener not to make any rushed calls about his T20 future with Australia not scheduled to play again in the format until next August, the decision became painfully clear during the recently concluded BBL|12 season.