Australia captain Alyssa Healy, one of the most decorated cricketers in the history of the women’s game, will retire from all forms of cricket after the multi-format home series against India in February-March 2026.
Healy, who took over as Australia’s full-time captain from Meg Lanning in late 2023, will not feature in the T20I leg of the India series, allowing Australia to begin preparations for the Women’s T20 World Cup later in the year.
She will, however, play the ODI series before bringing down the curtain on her international career with her 11th and final Test- a day-night encounter at the WACA from March 6 to 9.
Healy is among the most successful wicketkeepers in women’s international cricket. She has accumulated 275 dismissals across all three international formats for Australia, holding the record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in T20 international cricket, male or female with 126 such dismissals.
Paying T20 World Cup 2026 would not have been fair on teammates: Healy
“It’s been a long time coming,” Healy said on Willow Talk, the podcast where she is a regular panellist. The 35-year-old cited mental fatigue, injuries and a gradual erosion of her competitive edge as key reasons behind the decision. “The well is getting less and less full of water. It’s getting harder to dive back in,” she said.
While speculation around Healy’s future had grown in recent months, the timing of the announcement came as a surprise. The decision was accelerated by her call not to play through to the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England, a choice she said would not have been fair on her teammates. “This gives the girls an opportunity to prepare for that World Cup knowing I’m not going to be there,” she added.
Healy said finishing her career at home, against India, made the decision easier. “One of the biggest series on our calendar, with some of my team-mates and family around that felt like a really cool way to finish,” she said.
Alyssea Healy- An eight-time World Cup winner
Debuting for Australia as a 19-year-old in 2010, Healy leaves the game with an extraordinary record. She has scored over 3,500 ODI runs and 3,054 T20I runs, including a career-best 148 not out, the highest individual T20I score by a player from a Full Member nation.
Healy won eight World Cups- six T20 titles (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023) and two ODI crowns (2013, 2022) and was named ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2018 and 2019.
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg described Healy as “one of the all-time greats”, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called her “a legend” who helped drive the rise of women’s sport.
Healy is expected to play domestic cricket for New South Wales in the coming weeks but has already played her final game for Sydney Sixers in the WBBL.