Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has criticized Marcus Stoinis for his sudden decision to retire from ODIs, suggesting the all-rounder should have informed the team management earlier. Stoinis made the surprise announcement last week, just days before the Champions Trophy was set to begin, forcing Australia to search for replacements.
Stoinis had been named in the squad for the ICC event, but his unexpected retirement left the team scrambling. On ESPN Australia’s Around The Wicket podcast, Finch said Stoinis should have communicated his decision more clearly to the coach and captain before the squad was finalized. The former Aussie skipper also implied that the decision wasn’t spontaneous.
“When you’ve been backed by the selection panel, the coach, and the captain, maybe it would have been good to give a bit more of a heads-up. Saying, ‘This is what I’m thinking.’ I’d be surprised if it was an off-the-cuff decision. I’m sure there would have been discussions with Andrew McDonald and Marcus Stoinis leading up to this,” Finch said.
Finch speculated that the packed cricket schedule might have influenced Stoinis’s decision. Stoinis had been part of the Australia squad for the white-ball series against Pakistan, then played in the Big Bash League and the SA20.
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Finch added that Stoinis has shown a preference for T20 cricket in recent months. Playing in the IPL after the Champions Trophy would have meant a long stint away from home, possibly contributing to Stoinis’s decision.
“At the end of the day, each player gets to decide their own path. But if you look at Marcus’s last couple of years, he’s leaned more towards T20s. After a summer of cricket at home, being in Pakistan, then India, that could mean being on the road for four or five months, so maybe that played a role in his decision,” Finch concluded.
On February 12, Australia named Aaron Hardie as Stoinis’s replacement in the final 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy.
