Aaron Finch hints at T20I retirement of several Australian cricketers post 2022 WC

The eighth edition of the T20 World Cup will be hosted by Australia in October-November later this year and the country's white-ball skipper Aaron Finch has hinted that it could be the last tournament for many of the "ageing squad members" of the current Australian team.

The Men in Yellow had won their maiden T20 World Cup title last year, defeating the Blackcaps in the decider by 8 wickets. The marquee event, which was first scheduled to be held in India, shifted to the UAE and Oman later due to the COVID-19 situation in India.  

Australia, this year will be playing before their home crowd, and the limited-overs skipper desires to lift the trophy in front of a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground in November and give a fairytale finish to the competition. 

Finch indicates about retirement of several players

While the 35-year-old World Cup-winning captain has indicated that this could be his last mega event, it could also be the swansong for the star opener David Warner and wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, provided that duo is already in their mid-30s. 

“It might be a full stop on everything (several players retiring from T20Is, including him) if it goes to plan like that. Fairy tales can happen in sports," Finch said to cricket.com.au during the 100-day countdown celebration to the mega event on Friday.  

"I think, just naturally, when guys get to their mid-30s, it’s going to be that way. Davey (Warner) just keeps going; he could play for another 10 years, I think, with how fit he is and how much he loves the competition and continuing to challenge himself,” Finch added. 

“(Matthew) Wadey has gone through a few phases (and) he’s now become so important to the structure of our team, batting at seven there and being so dynamic. But it’s an ageing side, isn’t it? Especially in that batting group," said Finch.

Matthew Wade, Australia's hero in last year’s tournament, has already stated that it will be his final international appearance for him in the upcoming ICC event. Warner, too, had cleared his intention of extending his Test and ODI career by putting a full stop to his T20I stint. 

Finch further added that the World Cup in Australia is going to be an “incredibly tough" competition, citing the example of South Africa from the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup where the Proteas side, despite winning four out of their five games, failed to qualify for the knockouts, owing to their poor net run rate than the other sides.

"It's going to be an incredibly tough competition. We saw how brutal the format is with South Africa winning four out of their five games at the last World Cup and still not qualifying on net run rate. It’s just so brutal that you do need a bit of luck along the way. So let’s see," Finch concluded.