Meg Lanning eyes off international return after taking personal leave from the game

Speaking for the first time since she took a second break from cricket for personal reasons, Meg Lanning has opened up on her international future.

Australian star Meg Lanning says she still has more to give as a cricketer but does not know when she will return to the national side or if she will assume the captaincy again.

Speaking publicly for the first time in more than six months, Lanning did not divulge any detail of the extended break over winter that kept her out of the Ashes and the start of the international summer, saying only she was “focusing on myself”.

But having returned to play with Victoria, she said she was enjoying playing again and in the right headspace to enjoy the upcoming WBBL campaign with the Melbourne Stars.

The Australian skipper said she had not given any thought to the looming tour of India in December but did not rule out rejoining the national team in time for the multi-format series in Mumbai.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Lanning said when asked about the India tour.

“I’m back playing some cricket, which is nice. I’m really enjoying it, and I still feel like I have a little bit more to give, but what exactly that looks like, I’m not sure.

“I haven’t really got that far (thinking about the Australian captaincy), to be honest. I’m just worrying about this next couple of weeks with the Stars.”

Meg Lanning has resumed playing for Victoria. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Lanning, 31, said she put the bat away entirely during her break from the game before resuming training ahead of her Victorian return in the WNCL.

The right-hander played all four games before the mid-season break and hit three half-centuries to sit third in the league run-scoring with 210 at an average of 70.

“I love batting, I’m very competitive and when I do well, I’m going to help the team win,” she said.

“I feel confident heading in (to the WBBL), and I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing.”

Lanning’s spell from the game was her second in the last two years after she took a four-month break at the end of 2022 for personal reasons.

She returned in January and led Australia to the T20 World Cup title in South Africa in March before playing in the inaugural season of the WPL in India.

Australian medical staff ruled the captain out of the Ashes tour due to an undisclosed health issue and deemed she was still unavailable for competitive cricket when the squad for the West Indies series was named last month.

Lanning said she had not watched much of the Ashes or the West Indies series but had maintained some contact with teammates.

“I didn’t actually watch a whole lot of it. I obviously followed the scores and wanted them to do well and kept in touch with some of them, but I didn’t actually watch a lot of the cricket, I just sort of let them be and try to do their thing,” Lanning said.

“I was focusing on getting myself into a really good spot, and I feel like I’ve done that.”