Australia will be without the services of Marcus Stoinis in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after the star all-rounder announced his retirement from ODI cricket with immediate effect.
Cricket Australia announced on Thursday that he wants to focus on T20 cricket. Stoinis leaves the format having featured in 71 games since making his debut back in 2015. Stoinis was earlier named in the squad for the Champions Trophy, and will now need to be replaced.
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“Playing ODI cricket for Australia has been an incredible journey, and I’m grateful for every moment I’ve had in the green and gold. Representing my country at the highest level is something I’ll always cherish,” Stoinis said.
“This wasn’t an easy decision, but I believe it’s the right time for me to step away from ODIs and fully focus on the next chapter of my career. I’ve got a fantastic relationship with Ron (Andrew McDonald) and I’ve hugely appreciated his support,” he added.
Stoinis suggested the decision to retire from ODI cricket was made so he could focus on prolonging his T20I career, but said he would still be keeping a close eye on proceedings at the Champions Trophy.
“I’ll be cheering the boys on in Pakistan,” he said.
Stoinis’ career-best effort with the bat came in just his second outing – an unbeaten 146 against New Zealand in Auckland in 2017. He last featured on the tour of Pakistan last November, and finished with 1495 runs and 48 wickets in the format.
Stoinis was also part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squad in 2023 and was the team’s ODI cricketer of the year in 2018-19.
“Stoinis has been such a pivotal part of our ODI setup for the past decade. Not only has he been an invaluable player but also an incredible person to have in the group. He is a natural leader, an exceptionally popular player and a great person. He should be congratulated on his ODI career and all of his achievements,” Australian men’s head coach Andrew McDonald said.
Australia preliminary squad: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa (squad yet to be finalised)
