Former Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning opens up about struggles with weight loss and insomnia leading to retirement

Former Australia women’s cricket captain Meg Lanning opened up about her struggles with weight loss and insomnia before her surprising retirement from international cricket last year. Lanning, a five-time T20 World Cup winner and two-time 50-overs edition champion, made the difficult decision to step away from the sport for medical reasons.

In a candid interview on the Howie Games podcast, the 32-year-old revealed that she was facing an identity crisis outside of cricket and that her diet and training routine had become imbalanced. Lanning admitted to running up to 90km a week while only consuming two small meals a day, leading to a significant weight loss from 64kg to 57kg.

“It sort of just spiralled,” Lanning said. “The ratios were out of whack a lot. It was just all out of whack and I kept sliding. At some point, it’s got to stop.”

Despite her struggles, Lanning made a successful comeback in 2023, leading Australia to victory in the T20 World Cup in South Africa. However, she has decided to focus on domestic T20 cricket and the Women’s Premier League in India, ruling out a return to the national team.

Following Lanning’s retirement, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy took over as Australia’s captain in December. Lanning’s honesty about her challenges with weight loss and insomnia sheds light on the pressures faced by elite athletes and the importance of mental and physical well-being in sports.