Shane Watson to retire from international cricket after ICC World Twenty20

New Delhi: Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on Thursday announced that he will retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in India.

Watson, 34, had retired from Test cricket at the end of last year's Ashes tour of England, and he has not played One Day International cricket since September last year.

According to Cricket Australia, the veteran all-rounder shared his decision with teammates in Mohali, where they take on Pakistan in a Super 10 Group 2 match on Friday.

"It`s been over the last week that it`s really become clear that now really is the right time to retire from all international cricket," Watson said in a statement issued by the board.

Watson made his international debut in a ODI match against South Africa in 2002, and is the last player from Australia's dominant era of the early 2000s.

He has played 59 Test matches, scoring 3731 runs with four hundreds at an average of 35.19. He also took 75 wickets including three five-wicket hauls.

In the ODIs, the right-handed batsman had scored 5757 runs with nine centuries in 190 matches. He took 168 ODI wickets.

In the shortest format of the game, Watson scored 1400 runs with one hundred and 10 fifties in 56 matches. He also took 46 wickets.