Symonds may announce his retirement from international cricket

Brisbane (Australia), June 6 (ANI): Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket after he returns to Brisbane today.

According to sources close to the player, a contract downgrade in which he stands to lose more than 200,000 dollars is the most recent source of his discontent.

With his contract under review he is thought to be seriously contemplating walking away from Australian cricket before he is pushed.

Symonds simply cannot see how he still fits in a team environment that has too many rules for his liking, and he no longer has the hunger to fight.

His ranking within the team has plummeted and the new contract offered by Cricket Australia represented a significant pay cut because he had slipped out of the top 16 in the country.

It's understood Symonds had also complained that there was no car to pick up him at the airport when he returned from the Indian Premier League in South Africa last month, after leading Deccan Chargers to the title.

Symonds has seen the enjoyment of former teammates Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist post-retirement and is widely expected to follow them into the world of specialist Twenty20 leagues.

He is next due to take the field for Deccan in the Champions League, in India from October 8-23. It's unclear what association, if any, he will retain with Queensland.

A source close to Symonds said he felt the leadership group of captain Ricky Ponting, deputy Michael Clarke, coach Tim Nielsen and manager Steve Bernard "did not want to deal with him".

Symonds has much to address when he returns to see his psychologist, Deidre Anderson, who would not comment.

"He's just cooked and tired of cricket and sort of wants to be dropped," said Ian Healy, the former Queensland teammate and Australian vice-captain in a radio interview.

Cricket operations manager Michael Brown will meet Symonds in Brisbane today "in a welfare capacity" but his contract is expected to be torn up.(ANI)