Glenn Maxwell announces international retirement; to play for Melbourne Stars in BBL

‘Big Show’ Glenn Maxwell has called time on his decorated international career but will feature for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL) after renewing his contract till 2027/28 season. The 38-year-old Australian all-rounder last played for his country in the 2026 T20 World Cup in the subcontinent against Oman, as Australia failed to reach the knockouts. Having already quit the 50-over format in June last year, Maxwell announced his retirement from national, first-class and List A cricket, bringing the curtain down on a successful career.

Beyond the countless records and memories he will carry, Maxwell will be remembered as a two-time ODI World Cup winner (2015 and 2023), having hit the winning runs in Ahmedabad three years ago, as well as a T20 World Cup champion (2021).

The right-handed batter will also largely be remembered for playing perhaps the greatest One-Day innings of all time, scoring an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan in Mumbai during the triumphant World Cup campaign in 2023.

"We probably had numerous discussions before and after the T20 World Cup," Maxwell said on the Final Word podcast.

"And it was it was pretty open-ended. There wasn't any pressure from that side [Australia team management], and we decided to sort of leave the door open. There were a couple of series that were coming up; they were going to look to the future, and we saw that in Bangladesh with guys getting their opportunity and performing really well."

Maxwell was not picked for the five-match T20I series against England, which indicated the end of the road for Australia’s biggest match winner.

"I suppose, a small hope or discussion that I might have been able to potentially get a send-off game at the MCG. But I can completely understand the direction they're going with this squad.

“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 that you probably can't always get from a BBL fixture,” Maxwell reflected on his decision.

While he featured across formats, Maxwell truly starred in T20Is, scoring 2897 runs and picking up 51 wickets in 130 appearances. He has scored five hundreds in the format – the joint-most alongside Rohit Sharma, who too has retired from T20Is.

Maxwell has played seven Tests, the last of which came in 2017, while his final ODI appearance was the semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 in Dubai.