Australia's star player Glenn Maxwell retires from international cricket.

Australia's star player Glenn Maxwell has decided to retire from international cricket. The 38-year-old has announced that he will retire not only from international cricket but also from first-class cricket and List A formats.

However, having extended his contract until the 2027-28 season, he is set to continue playing for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Maxwell, who had already retired from One-Day International cricket in June last year, remained open to T20 matches and participated in the 2026 short-format World Cup. However, the Australian team was unable to progress beyond the group stage in that tournament. The final match against Oman in February last year became his last international game for his country. In that match, he took two wickets with the ball but did not get an opportunity to bat.

Speaking on the Final Word podcast, he revealed that there had been several discussions with the team management before and after the T20 World Cup. He stated that there was no pressure from the management, and they agreed to keep the situation open without making a decision. Maxwell pointed out that the team had planned to look towards the future in the upcoming tournaments, and the new players who got an opportunity during the Bangladesh tour proved it by playing very skillfully.

Maxwell, a two-time ODI World Cup-winning team member, was also the player who scored the winning runs when Australia became T20 World Champions in 2021. He had some hope of playing a farewell match at his home ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), for his final appearance for his country. However, he stated that he fully understands the management's decision to allow young players to experience the pressure of international matches, which is not always available in Big Bash League games, as significant changes are expected in the team over the next 12 to 24 months, targeting the upcoming 2028 Olympics.

Maxwell, who continues to play in franchise leagues, led the Belfast Wolves to the final of the inaugural European T20 Premier League tournament last September. Five days later, he also played two matches for Victoria in the One-Day Cup tournament.

Maxwell recalled that telling his teammates after his last One-Day match for Victoria that it was his final game for his state was harder than he had anticipated. He mentioned that they had played a huge role throughout his entire career, and he became quite emotional when speaking in front of the team. He further explained that he has reached a point where he needs to invest more time in physical fitness to successfully complete the remaining few tournaments of his career.

The England team is scheduled to tour for a limited-overs series, which includes a T20 match in Melbourne. Although he had a desire to prepare for that match, he was also ready to receive a knee injection in preparation for the Big Bash League. Therefore, with the door closed on an international farewell match, he has been able to undergo an eight-week rehabilitation period to face the upcoming BBL tournament with full strength. He also stated that he would not expect such a farewell for any other format except for this format, which has been like a home to him for the past 15 years.

Maxwell has played 130 T20 International matches for Australia, scoring 2897 runs at a strike rate of 154.42 and taking 51 wickets. He has recorded 5 centuries in T20 Internationals, which is a world record he shares with Rohit Sharma. Additionally, Maxwell has played 7 Test matches, scoring 339 runs, including 104 against India in Ranchi. He last played a Test match in 2017.