Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on a 14-year career in which he became one of the most inventive and destructive white-ball batters of his generation. The Glenn Maxwell retirement was confirmed on The Final Word podcast, in an episode released on Tuesday, and it closes a journey that began with his international debut in 2012.
Maxwell, 38, will no longer play for Australia in any format. He has also stepped away from 50-over and four-day cricket for his state side, Victoria, while keeping the door open to franchise Twenty20 cricket, where he remains contracted to the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
FAKTA
- Player: Glenn Maxwell, 38, Australian all-rounder, known as the “Big Show”.
- International career: 2012 to 2026; 286 matches in total — 7 Tests, 149 one-day internationals and 130 Twenty20 internationals.
- Overall record: 7,226 international runs and 136 wickets.
- World Cup titles: ODI World Cups in 2015 and 2023, and the T20 World Cup in 2021.
- Last match for Australia: Against Oman at the T20 World Cup in February 2026.
- ODI farewell: Retired from one-day internationals in June 2025; this announcement ends his T20 international career too.
- What continues: Franchise T20 cricket with the Melbourne Stars, contracted until the end of the 2027-28 season.
Glenn Maxwell Retirement Follows England Series Omission
The timing of the decision is tied closely to selection. Maxwell was left out of Australia’s squad for the home Twenty20 series against England later this month, ending his hopes of a farewell appearance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the ground where he had hoped to say goodbye in front of a home crowd.
On the podcast, he said he understood the direction the selectors were taking, with a new generation being prepared for the next T20 World Cup in 2028 and the Los Angeles Olympics the same year. He also pointed to the need to look after his body, saying he wanted to manage his knee so he could get through the tournaments still ahead of him in franchise cricket.
The Stars open their Big Bash campaign against the Adelaide Strikers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 18 December, and that fixture now becomes the next chapter of his playing career rather than an international farewell.
A Career Defined by the Impossible
Maxwell’s numbers only tell part of the story. In one-day cricket he scored 3,990 runs and took 77 wickets, while in Twenty20 internationals he made 2,897 runs — the third-highest total by an Australian in the format, behind David Warner and Aaron Finch. He is one of only two batters, alongside India’s Rohit Sharma, to have scored five centuries in Twenty20 internationals.
A batsman in Australia’s green and gold acknowledges a packed stadium crowd at sunset. (Watan News desk image)
Yet one innings above all will define him. At the 2023 World Cup in Mumbai, Australia were seven wickets down for 91 runs chasing Afghanistan’s 292 when Maxwell, battling severe cramp and barely able to move between the wickets, produced an unbeaten 201 from 128 balls to win the match almost on his own. It remains one of the great individual performances in the history of the tournament, and it helped carry Australia towards a sixth world title.
There were other landmarks along the way: a 51-ball century against Sri Lanka at the 2015 World Cup, a match-winning hundred at Old Trafford in 2020 after Australia had slipped to 73 for five chasing 303, and a fearless approach built on reverse sweeps, scoops and shots few others even attempted. He was also candid about the strain of life at the top, taking a short break from the game in 2019 and speaking openly about his mental health at a time when few active players did so.
What Comes Next for Maxwell and Australia
For Maxwell, the immediate future is clear: franchise cricket, led by the Big Bash, where he will chase a first title with the Stars. For Australia, his departure is another step in a wider changing of the guard. The side’s early exit at this year’s T20 World Cup has already prompted a look towards younger players, and the selectors have begun giving new faces exposure to international pressure in the months since.
Maxwell leaves without the long Test career some once predicted for him — his seven Tests all came by 2017 — but his white-ball legacy is secure. Few players have changed the shape of a match as quickly, or as thrillingly, as he could at his best. For more sports coverage, visit Watan News in English.
