Australia captain Healy to retire from cricket after India series

SYDNEY (Web Desk) - Alyssa Healy, the Australia captain and one of the most successful cricketers of all time with eight World Cup titles, will retire from all cricket after the multi-format home series against India in February-March 2026.

"It's been a long time coming," Healy said on Willow Talk, a podcast she's a regular panelist on. "Few injuries. You've got to dive into the well, and the well is getting less and less full of water. Getting harder to dive back in there.

"At the end of the day, to have an opportunity to finish at home against India, which is on the calendar one of the biggest series for us. I thought that would be a really cool way to finish with some of my team-mates and some family around as well. It would've been nice to do it in India with a World Cup, but doing it at home will be something special."

The announcement from Healy, 35, means Australia will go into the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup with a new captain.

"That means I'm not going to the T20 World Cup," she said. "So there might be a little bit of change within that series [against India] leading into the World Cup, but leading on that tour will be really, really special."

"I never wanted to announce it, wanted to get to the end of the Test match [against India, starting March 6 in Perth], but with me not going into the T20 World Cup, it's forced a little bit of change. Not a lot of T20 cricket leading into that for the girls, so it's probably the place for me to make a decision on that format and give the girls an opportunity to prepare for that World Cup knowing that I'm not going to be there.

"It has forced an announcement of sorts, but it has given me some peace as well because I've known this in the back of my mind for probably six months. But to finally say it and get it out there, would be ideal for everyone to just clap it and move on."

Healy made her Australia debut as a 19-year-old in February 2010 and has scored more than 3500 runs in ODIs and more than 3000 runs in T20Is. She has since played the second most T20I matches for Australia, and has the highest individual score (148*) among Full Member teams. She also currently holds the record for the most T20I dismissals (men's or women's).

She won the Women's T20 World Cup in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023 and the ODI World Cup in 2013 and 2022. Healy was also ICC's T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2019.