Australia’s all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has officially retired from ODIs, bringing the curtain down on his 13-year-long career.
The 36-year-old made the announcement on Monday, revealing that the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final against India was his last appearance in the format.
Glenn Maxwell brings an end to his 149-match ODI career that spanned over a decade and included 3,990 runs, 77 wickets, and memories that will live long in the minds of cricket fans. His retirement follows those of fellow Australian players, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, and David Warner.
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Physical Toll Behind Glenn Maxwell's ODI Retirement
The decision to step away, Maxwell admitted, was not just tactical, it was physical. After a brutal 2022 leg injury and the increasing toll of 50-over cricket, Maxwell knew it was time. He realised he was letting his team down in the Champions Trophy 2025 and made up his mid to retire after having a chat with chief selector George Bailey around the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"I felt like I was letting the team down a little bit with how the body was reacting to the conditions. I had a good chat with (Chair of Selectors) George Bailey and I asked him what his thoughts were going forward," Maxwell said as quoted on the Final Word Podcast, as per an official release issued by Cricket Australia.
"We talked about the 2027 World Cup and I said to him ‘I don’t think I am going to make that, it’s time to start planning for people in my position to have a crack at it and make the position their own’. Hopefully, they get enough of a lead-in to hang onto that role," he added.
Maxwell admitted that while he gave his all to stay fit for the Champions Trophy 2025, the grind of 50-over cricket had become too taxing.
"My decision to retire from one-day international cricket was probably more on the back of the first couple of games in the Champions Trophy. I felt like I gave myself a really good opportunity to be fit and ready for those games. The first game in Lahore, we played on a rock-hard outfield. Post that game I was pretty sore."
"It feels like it's a tiring affair just to get through – and almost surviving – the 50 overs, let alone being at my best throughout that 50 overs, and then going out there and trying to perform with the bat as well," Maxwell stated.
A Career of Chaos and Brilliance
Maxwell was never the most conventional batter. With his 360-degree range, innovative strokeplay, and uncanny ability to turn games in a matter of overs, Maxwell was a key cog in two World Cup-winning campaigns, 2015 at home and the dramatic 2023 title run in India.
He sits atop the list for highest career strike-rate (126.70) among batters with more than 2,000 ODI runs.
He arguably played the best knock in the ODI World Cup history, a herculean 201* against Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the 2023 event. Australia were down and out at 91 for 7, chasing 292.
Maxwell, battling cramps and barely able to run, pulled off one of the greatest innings in the history of white-ball cricket. The double-century, the first ever by an Australian in ODIs, came off just 128 balls and included 21 fours and 10 sixes. He led Australia to a win with his 202-run partnership with Pat Cummins, who scored only 12 runs.
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