‘A great team man’- Twitter reacts after Australia’s Aaron Finch announces retirement from all forms of international cricket

Australia T20I captain Aaron Finch called time on a remarkable international career on Tuesday, February 7. Finch, who acquired the captaincy in 2021, led Australia to win their maiden 20-20 World Cup, defeating New Zealand in the final by eight wickets.

The two-time World Cup winner, Finch led Australia in a record 76 T20Is and 55 ODIs. He represented Australia in 254 international matches, which includes 5 Test matches, 146 ODIs and 103 T20Is. He made his international debut in January 2011 in a T20I against England and amassed more than 8,000 runs which includes 17 ODI centuries and two T20I hundreds before he announced his retirement.

The 36-year-old cricketer said that he is grateful to represent Australia for 12 years. He also said that the team winning the first 20-20 World Cup in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 are the two memories that he will cherish the most.

“Realising 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 the event,” Finch said after announcing his retirement.

“Team success is what you play the game for and the maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be the two memories I cherish the most. To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour,” he added.

The right-handed batsman, who retired from ODI cricket in September 2022 to focus more on the shortest format of the game. He played his final international match against Ireland in the 20-20 World Cup in 2022 in which he scored 63 runs and helped his side win the match. He was last seen playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) 2022-23 season.

Here are some of the reactions from the fans to Finch’s retirement: