Australia captain Aaron Finch announced retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket on Saturday. The ODI match against New Zealand on Sunday will be his last game in this format. The 35-year-old batsman, who has played 145 ODIs and captained in 54 matches has been in poor form as he has managed to score only 27 runs in his last seven innings.
While making the announcement, Finch called his limited-overs cricketing journey "a fantastic ride with some incredible memories."
"I have been extremely fortunate to be a part of some brilliant one-day sides. Equally, I have been blessed by all those I have played with and the many people behind the scenes," said Finch in the press release as reported by news agency ANI.
"It is time now to give a new leader the best possible opportunity to prepare for and win the next World Cup. I thank all of those who have helped and supported my journey to this point," the Australian batsman added.
However, Finch will continue to captain the T20I team. Under his captaincy, Australia won their maiden ICC Men's T20 World Cup title held in UAE in 2021.
In his ODI career of about 10 years, Finch has scored 5400 runs and 17 centuries. He made his debut against Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2013 and smashed his maiden hundred against Scotland, scoring 148 runs.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley thanked Finch for his contribution to the Australian team and said, "On behalf of Australian Cricket, I would like to congratulate Aaron on his vast contribution as the captain of the Australian Men's ODI team and as a wonderful exponent of the 50-over format."
After the ball-tampering scandal shook the Australian team in 2018 with Steve Smith being banned, Finch was appointed the permanent white-ball captain.