Australia's T20 World Cup Winner Matthew Wade Announces Retirement From International Cricket

Australia veteran wicketkeeper-batter and ICC Men's T20 World Cup winner Matthew Wade on Tuesday (October 29) announced his retirement from international cricket with an aim to transition into coaching in the near future.

Wade called time on a 13-year international career having appeared for Australia on more than 200 occasions, with the majority of those coming via the two white-ball formats. The 36-year-old played in 97 ODIs, 92 T20Is and 36 Tests during his international career.

The Tasmanian retired from the international stage, having featured for his country at three editions of the T20 World Cup, with his most memorable achievement coming in 2021 when he helped guide Australia to their inaugural 20-over title in Dubai in his role as vice-captain.

Wade starred at that tournament, with his innings of 41* from just 17 deliverers in a thrilling semi-final victory over Pakistan among his many career highlights. In 92 T20Is, Wade amassed 1202 runs, while in the 97 ODIs, the wicketkeeper scored 1867 runs, including 1 century.

The keeper-batter also scored four Test centuries in his 36 Test appearances with a career-best score of 117 coming in the fifth Ashes Test against England at The Oval in 2019.

While Wade has retired from international cricket, the veteran wicketkeeper will continue to play at domestic level in Australia and appear in franchise cricket around the world, including the upcoming Big Bash League.

Having retired, Wade will begin his next journey immediately having been drafted into the Aussies' coaching staff for next month's T20I series at home against Pakistan. Wade revealed it was always his plan to turn his attention towards coaching.

"I was fully aware my international days were most likely over at the end of the last T20 World Cup. My international retirement and coaching has been a constant conversation with George (Bailey) and Andrew (McDonald) over the past six months," Wade was quoted as saying by ICC.

"Coaching has been on my radar over the last few years and thankfully some great opportunities have come my way, for which I am very grateful and excited.

"I will continue to play BBL (Big Bash League) and the odd franchise league over the summer months but around those commitments as a player I am investing heavily in my coaching.

"As my international career closes, I want to thank all of my Australian team mates, staff and coaches. I enjoyed the ride as challenging as it can be at international level. Without good people around me I would have never got as much out of myself as I did."

Wade was also part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Gujarat Titans from 2022 to 2024, but at this stage it is unclear if he would be entering the IPL Mega Auction next month.