Glenn Maxwell retires from international cricket after 14-year career

Sydney: Maverick Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtains down on a career spanning 14 years.

The 38-year-old last represented Australia in a match against Oman in the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this year.

“I’m going to be announcing my retirement from international cricket and domestic games for Victoria in the 50 over and the four-day stuff, red ball completely,” he said on ‘The Final Word’ podcast released on Tuesday.

“There’s going to be a lot of change, I suppose, over the next 12 to 24 months with the Olympics coming up (in 2028), and they’ve got to make sure that they get their eyeballs on a few young guys coming through and making sure that they’re getting exposed to international pressure…,” he added.

Nicknamed the ‘Big Show’ for his power-hitting, Maxwell played 149 ODIs, 130 T20Is and seven Tests for Australia, winning two World Cups (2015 and 2023) and one T20 World Cup (2021).

“It’s probably a time where I probably 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.

“There was, I suppose, a small hope or discussion that I might have been able to potentially get a send-off game at the MCG (Melbourne), but I can completely understand the direction they’re going with this squad,” he added.

Maxwell was a key member of Australia’s white-ball teams and played several match-winning knocks during his career.

His remarkable double century against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup while battling severe exhaustion, remains one of the most memorable innings in the tournament’s history.

Maxwell scored 3,990 runs in ODIs at a strike rate of 126.7 and added 2,897 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 154.4.

He finished his international career with 10 centuries and 136 wickets across formats, establishing himself as one of Australia’s finest all-rounders.