By Manoj 
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has now officially retired from international cricket at the age of 38. Along with that, he has announced that he is retiring from both first-class and List A cricket, which means he is ending his time as a professional cricketer in both of Australia’s domestic and international formats. He plans on continuing to play franchise cricket and he will still be able to play for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Glenn Maxwell made this choice after Australia’s disappointing performance at the 2026 T20 World Cup, which saw them fail to progress past the group stages. His final international appearance was for Australia against Oman in February 2026. In that game, he took two wickets, however, he had no chance to bat.
The right handed batsman was no longer playing one-day international (ODI) cricket as of June 2025, however he was still able to play for Australia’s T20 international team. After discussing this with the Australian team’s management, Maxwell made the decision to step aside so that more young players could be given a chance to compete on the national level as Australia prepares to face its future challenges.
Speaking on the Final Word Podcast, Maxwell said that there were conversations about retirement prior to and post the T20 World Cup. He also stated that Australia is transitioning into a new era with a different team composition and giving younger players an opportunity.
Maxwell was hoping that he would be able to play a last international game in front of his home crowd at the MCG, where he loves playing cricket. He accepts, though, that Australia is going to concentrate on giving younger players experience prior to the 2028 Olympics.
During his international career, Maxwell was one of the most exciting and effective all-around players for Australia. He was on both of the Australian ODI World Cup-winning teams and played a major part in Australia winning the 2021 T20 World Cup, as he hit the winning run in the championship game.
One of the most memorable times in his career was at the 2023 ODI World Cup versus Afghanistan in Mumbai. Maxwell scored a spectacular undefeated double-hundred to enable Australia to pull off an incredible run-chase while suffering from injury throughout much of the game.
Maxwell is also leaving behind some very good T20I numbers. He played for Australia in 130 T20I matches and scored 2,897 runs at an excellent strike rate of 154.42. He has hit five T20I hundreds which makes him tied with Rohit Sharma for the most hundreds in the T20I format.
Glenn Maxwell participated in 7 test cricket games. He accumulated 339 total runs. He achieved his highest test match run total (104) when playing against India in Ranchi in 2017.
Maxwell’s involvement in international cricket has continued alongside his participation in various franchise-based leagues throughout the globe. In 2019, he led Belfast Wolves as captain during their first appearance in the European T20 Premier League, where they reached the finals. Prior to ending his List A career, Maxwell played in two One-Day Cup games for Victoria.
Maxwell stated that it was difficult to announce that he would be making what is likely to be his last appearance for Victoria because of how much love and support he received from his fellow players during his time with the team.
The Australian all-rounder will now focus on his fitness and rehabilitation of his knee so that he can be ready to compete in all other remaining tournaments of his professional career. He was considering participating in Australia’s forthcoming white-ball series against England (including the T20I in Melbourne), however, ultimately chose to prioritize his recovery.
Although Maxwell is no longer playing at the international or state level, he remains associated with the Melbourne Stars. The Stars have extended Maxwell’s contract through to the 2027-28 BBL season which means that fans will be able to see him play for the Stars again.
The retirement of Glenn Maxwell is the end of a very significant era for Australian cricket. He won’t play for Australia again, but with all of the incredible batting, helpful bowling, and amazing performances that he has had, Maxwell has earned a spot as one of the best white-ball players that Australia has ever seen.