Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has retired at the age of 38 from international cricket along with the first-class and List A versions of the game.
Maxwell will keep playing for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL), after extending his contract to the 2027-28 season.
He had already retired from ODIs in June 2025 but stayed available for T20Is. He played the 2026 T20 World Cup, where Australia went out in the group stage. His last match for his country was against Oman in February. He took two wickets and did not bat.
Maxwell said in a podcast interview that he and Australia’s management had talked several times before and after the tournament. “We probably had numerous discussions before and after the T20 World Cup,” he said. “There wasn’t any pressure from that side [Australia team management], and we decided to sort of leave the door open.”
He said he had hoped for a farewell match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) but understood why Australia are looking ahead. “A small hope or discussion that I might have been able to potentially get a send-off game at the MCG. But I can completely understand the direction they’re going with this squad,” he stated, pointing out that selectors want to give young players international experience before the 2028 Olympics. England are due to visit for a white-ball series that includes a T20I in Melbourne. Maxwell said he was tempted to try to be ready for it but chose to rest his knee instead, because he wants to be fit for the BBL.
He called T20 cricket the format that has felt like home.
Maxwell led Belfast Wolves to the final of the inaugural European T20 Premier League in September. Five days later, he played two One-Day Cup matches for Victoria. He said telling his Victoria team-mates it was his last game for the state was “probably harder than I thought it was going to be” and that he got a “little bit choked up.”
Maxwell was part of the team that won the ODI World Cup twice and hit the winning runs when Australia won the T20 World Cup in 2021. He played 130 T20Is and scored 2,897 runs at a strike rate of 154.42. He also took 51 wickets. His five T20I centuries are a world record that he shares with India’s Rohit Sharma.
He played seven Tests, the last in 2017, and scored 339 runs. His best score was 104 against India in Ranchi.
