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Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis shocked everyone with his sudden decision of retiring from the ODI format right before the Champions Trophy 2025. The news also left the fans puzzled as Stoinis was recently included in the Australian squad for the upcoming tournament in Pakistan (with India matches in UAE). Reacting to this, former Australian skipper Aaron Finch slammed Stoinis for this sudden decision and also said that he should have communicated to the coach and captain before.
Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement from ODI cricket on February 6, almost three weeks after Cricket Australia revealed their squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. "When you've had the faith put in you by the selection, the coach and the captain - maybe a little bit more of a heads up? Saying, 'You know, this is what I am thinking.' I would be surprised if it was an off the cuff decision as well, I am sure there would have been planning down the track, there would have been conversations between Andrew McDonald and Marcus Stoinis to try to get to the decision," Aaron Finch was quoted as saying by India Today.
For last couple of years, he preferred to play T20: Aaron Finch explains reason for Marcus Stoinis’ ODI retirement
Speaking further, Aaron Finch also assumed the reason for Marcus Stoinis’ sudden decision of retiring from ODI cricket. Australia T20 World Cup winning captain believes that Stoinis has given more priority to the shorter format of the game in the last few years.
"At the end of the day, each player has the opportunity to decide what their fate is going forward. For me, if you look at Marcus Stoinis for the last couple of years, he's preferred to play the T20 route. Being in Pakistan, then straight to India after a summer of cricket at home, that can potentially be four-five months on the road, so maybe that contributed to the decision," Finch said.
