Australia’s renowned batter Steve Smith has announced his retirement from ODI cricket with immediate effect. The 35-year-old made this announcement after getting humbled by the Indian cricket team in the first semifinal of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Smith pulls down curtains on his ODI career
Steve Smith, one of the modern greats of red ball cricket, has bid adieu to the 50-over format. The right-hander played 170 ODIs, amassing 5,800 runs at a decent average of 43.28 and a strike rate of 86.96. His tally included 12 centuries and 35 half-centuries. By the end of his career, Smith finished as Australia’s 12th highest run scorer in ODIs. His best performance with the bat came in 2016, when he scored a career-best 164 against New Zealand.
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Smith kicked off his career as a leg-spinning all-rounder, he also contributed with the ball, taking 28 wickets, and proved reliable in the field with 90 catches. Smith’s ODI career wasn’t among the greats of the game in this particular format, but he gained popularity on the Australian circuit. Smkth will continue to feature for his national side in T20Is and Test Cricket.
“It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,”- Steve Smith
Announcing his decision to the media release after the semifinal loss to team India, Smith was quoted saying,
“It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it. There have been so many amazing times and wonderful memories. Winning two World Cups was a great highlight along with the many fantastic teammates who shared the journey. Now is a great opportunity for people to start preparing for the 2027 World Cup so it feels like the right time to make way. Test cricket remains a priority and I am really looking forward to the World Test Championship Final, the West Indies in the winter and then England at home. I feel I still have a lot to contribute on that stage.”
Smith will go down in the history books as one of the modern greats in red-ball cricket. His ODI career didn’t resonate the same as Test cricket, but Smith’s legacy in Australian cricket will always be exceptional.
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