After busy couple years, stepping back from the game for a while, announces Meg Lanning

Long-time Australian skipper Meg Lanning has made a choice to give up on cricket for the immediate future and rest for a while. The 30-year-old announced her decision on Wednesday and attributed a hectic two years for the same, having led Australia to major accolades in that time period.

"After a busy couple of years, I've made the decision take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself," Lanning was quoted as saying in the statement as reported by NDTV.

The announcement comes off the back of a successful Commonwealth Games campaign, where Lanning led her team to an incredible 9-run victory against India in the final, thus winning the first ever cricket gold in the women's T20 format in the quadrennial event.

"I'm grateful for the support of CA and my teammates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time," Lanning added.

No potential date for her comeback has been charted, nor has it been made clear whether Lanning would continue to participate in domestic games. For the time being, the veteran will be skipping the upcoming edition of The Hundred and is likely to sit out the upcoming international summer games as well.

"We're proud of Meg for acknowledging that she needs a break and will continue to support her during this time," the Australian women's team's head of performance, Shawn Flegler, was quoted as saying.

"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."

Lanning has represented the Kangaroos in 230 games, accumulating over 8,000 runs while averaging a stunning 53.13 in ODIs. She has been a regular part of the team for 12 years now and has been Australia's all-format captain since 2014. In that timeframe, she has helped Australia claim a World Cup and an incredible three World T20s alongside the recent Commonwealth Games success, while having been previously involved in a World Cup and World T20 triumph as a player as well. With her departure from the international setup, for the time being, it is likely that present vice-captain Rachael Haynes will take over as the full-time skipper for the team from Down Under.