T20 World Cup winner Matthew Wade announces international retirement

Veteran Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has officially called it a day from international cricket at 36. Wade, who made his debut for Australia in 2011, went on to represent his country in 36 Tests, 97 ODIs and 92 T20Is. Wade was always behind the likes of Tim Paine and Brad Haddin during his early years, jostling for the wicketkeeper's place before making his own in the T20Is and playing a massive role in Australia's only T20 World Cup victory in 2021 in Dubai

"I'm officially retiring," Wade, who retired from first-class cricket last summer, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "It's been an ongoing discussion for pretty much every tour or every World Cup that I've been on in the last three or four years.

"It's been a really fluent conversation that I've had with George (Bailey, chief selector) and Ronnie (coach Andrew McDonald) over the last six months or since the



last World Cup finished. Even leading into the last World Cup, we've been really open and had really great communication around where I'm at with my career.

"If we went into the last World Cup and I managed to get some runs and we won that, then things would look maybe a little different and maybe I'd keep going … it was just kind of an understanding from all of us," Wade added.

Wade mentioned that the emotions really hit home after the loss to India in the T20 World Cup earlier in June in Saint Lucia when he sat down and realised probably that was the end of his career. 

"It probably hit home after we lost against India. That was an emotional moment. The relationships that I've built, more over the last three years in that team – I really enjoy playing in that team, and I felt really connected to that playing group and that coaching staff," Wade added.