Australia's defeat to India in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025 not only ended their campaign in the event but also pulled down the curtains on Steve Smith's career as a One-day International player.
Smith, who led Australia in the absence of of regular skipper Pat Cummins, announced his retirement from the 50-over game on Wednesday, a day after he top-scored for Australia with a 96-ball 73 which along with a 57-ball 61 by Alex Carey helped Australia to 264 in 49.3 overs. India chased the target with 11 balls to spare and stormed into the final with an unbeaten record.
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 ODI World Cup so it feels like the right time to make way.
Smith will continue to be available for Test and T20I selection, hoping to prolong his career till 2028 when the T20 game will feature in the Olympics at Los Angeles.
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 ends his ODI career with 170 appearances, making him Australia's 16th-most capped men's player in the 50-over format and the 12th highest runs scorer. He also captained Australia in 64 ODIs, in which he has a winning percentage of 50 percent.
He has series wins against England and India in his first year as full-time skipper, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, and a tri-series victory over South Africa and West Indies in the Caribbean (both in 2016).
Smith finishes his ODI career with 5800 runs at an average of 43.28 and a strike rate of 86.96 per 100 balls faced, with 12 centuries and 35 fifties and a highest score of 164 against New Zealand at the SCG in 2016.
Smith, whose career was besmirched by his role in the Sandpapergate controversy in the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018 which cost him his captaincy in all formats, has also held 90 catches at an average of 0.53 per innings – only Glenn Maxwell (0.61) and Mike Hussey (0.57) boast a better ratio among Australia players to have taken 70 or more ODI grabs – including some extraordinary one-handed efforts.
Recently, he led Australia to a 3-0 clean sweep of the West Indies in Cummins' absence as captain during the 2023-24 home summer and on the Sri Lanka tour before the Champions Trophy in which they won the Test series but lost the ODIs.
