Steve Smith retires from ODIs: 3 reasons why it is a sensible move

Steve Smith announced his retirement from one-day internationals following his side’s defeat to India in the semi-final of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue beat the 2023 World Cup winners by four wickets to seal a spot in the final on Tuesday, March 4.

The Aussie veteran's record in the ODIs will be remembered for ages to come and will act as a source of inspiration for the younger generation. Smith will go down as one of the finest batters that Australia has ever seen, having dominated the game across formats.

The former Australian full-time captain, who captained the side in their recently concluded Champions Trophy campaign, had led his team in 64 ODIs between 2015 and 2025. His ODI career has witnessed him play 170 games, scoring 5,800 runs, including 12 hundreds and 35 fifties, at an average of 43.28.

A day after Australia’s semi-final loss, Smith announced his decision to retire from the ODIs, adding that he would continue playing T20Is and the red-ball format. While his call to hang his boots in the 50-over format came as a shock and surprise to many, it was somewhat the right call.

Here’s why:

#3 He can fully focus on his Test career

Having retired from ODIs, Smith will now get ample time to prepare for the most challenging format of the game- Test. He has been a key figure in the Australian red-ball setup and will look to showcase his prowess further.

The Australian players will participate in the Indian Premier League 2025, which begins after the conclusion of the ongoing Champions Trophy.

The Aussies will then start preparing for the World Test Championship final, aiming for a second consecutive title there. They’re the defending champions, having beaten India in the previous edition, and will face South Africa in June.

Smith will be a pivotal figure and one of the most trustworthy middle-order batters. Since he is not a part of any of the IPL teams, Smith will have a good amount of time in hand to prepare for Australia’s title defense.

#2 Provide a chance to the up-and-coming talent

The Australian unit has recently seen the addition of several young players in the 50-over format. With many of their key players facing injury concerns before the Champions Trophy, the Aussie management had to take a tough call and bring in some inexperienced players.

Australia’s talent pool is ample, with several players putting up noteworthy performances in the domestic circuit. The Test format recently saw Sam Konstas shine on his debut against India during the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

With the next World Cup two and a half years away, Australia have a good amount of time to prepare a team for the future. If Smith experienced an age-related decline or loss in form, then it would have been too close for Australia to make a change and find a player of Smith’s stature.

All this only suggests that the timing of Smith’s exit couldn’t have been perfect.

#1 Big pool of players to transition forward

Smith is retiring at a point in time when Australia have plenty of players in form and enough batters in the team going forward.

Cameron Green is set to return soon, and with the next World Cup scheduled to be played in South Africa, Marnus Labuschange will be a key as he has a great record in ODIs batting there.

Additionally, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey and Travis Head are in top form and will be raring to go when they begin their title defense during the 2027 ODI World Cup.