Mathew Wade Set To Retire After T20 World Cup 2022

Australia wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has revealed that he will retire after next year's Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. He added that he had almost missed the Men's T20 World Cup final against New Zealand due to the pain caused by a grade two side strain caused by the injury to his side during the pre-final practice session on Saturday.

"That'll be my next motivation - hopefully get to that World Cup, defend the title and then I can sail off into the sunset. I certainly won't be playing (international cricket) beyond that point. That would be my goal from here," Wade was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday.

It is expected that Wade will continue to play for Tasmania in domestic cricket and Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Wade was the hero in the second semi-final win against Pakistan, making 41 runs off 17 balls. His effort also included a hat-trick of sixes against Pakistan left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to seal the match in his team's favour. In the final, Wade was not required to bat as Australia chased 173 with eight wickets in hand at Dubai for their first-ever Men's T20 World Cup title.

Talking about doubts on missing out on the final on Sunday, Wade remarked, "I was a little bit worried the night before the game, for sure. If I had have woken up and I couldn't swing the bat, I wouldn't have played. I was worried that if we'd batted first and I had to go as hard as I could and I tore it then, I wouldn't be able to keep and that would hurt the team a lot."

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If the 33-year-old hadn't played, Australia would have handed an international debut to back-up option in Josh Inglis. "But in my mind, they would have had to strap me to the bed. I was always going to go out there and play. But I wouldn't have played if there was a chance it was going to hurt the team. I went and hit some balls before the game and bluffed my way through that. Then they made me hit a few more, but I got through it and it felt pretty fine," concluded Wade.