Meg Lanning, the Australia women’s cricket captain, has chosen to step back from cricket for an indefinite period. Lanning, who is Australia’s most capped women’s captain, said she has taken the decision because of personal reasons, with Cricket Australia extending its full support towards the 30-year-old.

“We’re proud of Meg for acknowledging that she needs a break and will continue to support her during this time. She’s been an incredible contributor to Australian cricket over the last decade, achieving remarkable feats both individually and as part of the team, and has been a brilliant role model for young kids. The welfare of our players is always our number one priority, and we’ll continue to work with Meg to ensure she gets the support and space she needs.”

said Shawn Flegler, CA’s head of performance, women’s cricket.

Lanning has been at the forefront of Australia women’s domination in world cricket.

Over the last  two years, she has driven the team to a T20 and a 50-over World Cup, to go with an Ashes series win. At this point, there is no fixed date concerning when Lanning will return as she wrote down a statement explaining the reason for her decision and wished that her privacy is respected.

Australia skipper Meg Lanning has taken an indefinite break from cricket for personal reasons, right after leading her side to a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 🥇

She is also the current holder of the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup trophies 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PpyAvYtDwF

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 10, 2022

“After a busy couple of years, I’ve made the decision to take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself. I’m grateful for the support of CA and my teammates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time,”

Lanning said.

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The Australia captain is one of  the best batters in women’s cricket, at present positioned second in ICC T20I rankings and fifth in ODIs. Having made her debut in 2010, Lanning was designated captain in 2014, when she was all of 21 years of age. Since then, Lanning has captained Australia in a record 171 matches, with only the legendary Allan Border and Ricky Ponting in front of her. Lanning stepping down promises to pose a challenge for Cricket Australia as they search for another captain. Australia will tour India for a five-T20I series, which could see a change in guard.