‘It’s probably a time…’: Maxwell calls time on his 14-year international career
New Delhi: Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has announced his retirement from international cricket, calling time on his career that spanned 14 years.
The 38-year-old, who retired from ODI cricket in June last year, represented Australia across 149 ODIs, 130 T20Is and 7 Tests, won two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups (2015 and 2023) and one ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2021).
“We probably had numerous discussions before and after the T20 World Cup,” Maxwell said on the Final Word podcast. “And it was pretty open-ended. There wasn’t any pressure from (Australia team management), and we decided to sort of leave the door open.
“There was a couple of series that were coming up (in which) they were going to look to the future, and we saw that in Bangladesh with guys getting their opportunity and performing really well.
“It’s probably a time where I need to spend a little bit more time investing in the body to make sure I can get through the remaining couple of tournaments I’ve got in my career,” he said.
Maxwell, who last appeared for Australia in their final match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 against Oman, was the oldest player in Australia’s disappointing T20I World Cup campaign.
The allrounder leaves T20I cricket as Australia’s third-highest run scorer (2,897) behind David Warner and Aaron Finch, and as one of just two batters, alongside India’s Rohit Sharma, to have scored five T20I centuries.
A dynamite with the bat, Maxwell was a powerhouse in the Australian batting order, especially in white-ball cricket. His ODI double hundred, which came in a remarkable chase against Afghanistan in the 2023 CWC, was a testament to the all-rounder’s qualities and character.
Maxwell scored 3990 runs at a strike rate of 126.7 in ODIs, in addition to his 2897 runs at a strike rate of 154.4 in the shortest format of the game. With ten international hundreds and 136 international wickets to his name, Maxwell is one of Australia’s finest all-rounders.
One of the turning points of his career was the 2023 ODI World Cup league-stage game with Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. With cramps, Maxwell scored an incredible 201 not out off only 128 balls as Australia defeated Afghanistan by three wickets while chasing 292.
Maxwell’s last Test for Australia was in 2017, with the Australia batsman having played 7 matches. He has largely been confined to limited-overs cricket since and has been significantly more successful in that format.
He will continue to play in Big Bash title with the Melbourne Stars, with whom he is contracted until the end of the 2027-28 season. Maxwell most recently turned out for Victoria in a couple of one-day matches but has also called stumps on his List A career. He has not played a first-class match since 2023.
“Post the last one-day game for Victoria, speaking to my teammates and letting them know that that was going to be my last game for the state was probably harder than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “Knowing that they’ve played such a huge role in my whole career, every time I’ve come back, had great team-mates there and a lot of support from the state, I certainly got a little bit choked up speaking in front of the group,” he added.