Days after winning the maiden Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medal, Australian women’s cricket team captain Meg Lanning has announced that she will be taking an ‘indefinite break’ from all formats of cricket citing personal reasons. The multiple World Cup winner released a statement to announce her decision, following which the Australian women’s cricket team also released a statement, announcing their support for the star cricketer.

“After a busy couple of years, I have decided to take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself,” the statement released by Lanning read.

Also Read: CWG 2022: India lose to Australia in a game of nerves, settle for silver

“I appreciate CA’s and my teammates’ assistance and ask that my privacy be respected at this time,” she added.

Cricket Australia and the country’s women’s cricket team have supported Lanning’s decision and sent their best wishes to her.

“Effective immediately, Meg Lanning will go on an indefinite leave of absence. Meg has decided to step away from the game for personal reasons, and there is no set return date. CA and our team fully support Meg’s choice and send their best wishes to her,“ a statement by the Australian women’s cricket team read.

The 30-year-old has been a revelation for the Australian women’s cricket team, leading them to victories at the Women’s T20 World Cup and Women’s ODI World Cup in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Following the ODI World Cup win earlier in 2022, she also led her team to the maiden gold medal in Commonwealth Games 2022, defeating India by nine runs in the final on Sunday, August 7.

Fondly called ‘The Megastar’, Lanning has also been a consistent performer for the national team over the years. She has represented Australia in six Test, 100 ODI and 124 T20I matches till now, scoring 345, 4463 and 3211 runs respectively.

Also Read: COVID positive Tahilia McGrath walks out maskless, slammed on social media

Lanning is the youngest women’s Test captain in the history of the sport, which she achieved at an age of 23 years and 139 days. She is also the fastest to 3000 runs in Women’s T20I matches, touching the milestone in 107 games. The Australian skipper has also played 124 T20I matches, the most by any woman cricketer.

It is not clear when she will return to the sport, however, it is expected that she might miss the 2022 Women’s Big Bash League in October.