Australia's white-ball captain Aaron Finch is reportedly set to announce his retirement from ODI cricket on the back of his poor form in recent times.
According to a report from News Corp Australia, Finch will make an announcement pertaining to his future on Saturday, September 10, in Cairns, Queensland.
He has registered only 26 runs from his last seven ODI innings, which includes three ducks as well. His barren run has been prolonged in the Aussies' ongoing series against New Zealand.
He was undone by an inswinger from Trent Boult in the first ODI after scoring just five runs. Matt Henry dismissed the opening batter for a second-ball duck in the subsequent match. However, Australia have won both matches so far.
Should Finch choose to step away from the format, the upcoming third match of the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand could be his final ODI. The explosive batter is also not in the scheme of things when it comes to Test cricket.
This would in turn mean that his sole focus would be on the shortest format of the game. Finch is still touted to lead the Australian side in the upcoming 2022 T20 World Cup at home. The Aussies are the defending champions, having won last year's tournament in the UAE.
Finch's possible retirement would mean that Australia will have to appoint a new ODI captain. While there has been vocal support from former cricketers to relieve David Warner of his captaincy ban, Cricket Australia could take a different route.
The decision would be an important one as the 2023 ODI World Cup in India is only a year away.
Aaron Finch has represented Australia in 144 ODIs
Aaron Finch made his ODI debut for the national team in 2013 against Sri Lanka. Since then, he has gone on to play 144 ODIs, scoring 5401 runs in the process at an average of 39.42. He has 30 fifties and 17 hundreds to his name as well.
Finch was appointed as captain of the ODI team in 2018, replacing Tim Paine. He has led the side in 52 ODIs so far and has a win percentage of 52.08 over the course of his four-year tenure. He led Australia to the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup as well.
Is Aaron Finch making the right call by retiring from ODI cricket? Let us know what you think.
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