Explosive Australian batter Glenn Maxwell announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday after being left out of the squad for the upcoming T20 series against England.
The unpredictable 38-year-old had not featured in a Test match since 2017. He ended his one-day international career last year but had remained open to continuing his journey in T20 cricket.
Maxwell had not been selected for Australia since the T20 World Cup held in Sri Lanka in February. Selectors also left him out of the squad for the series against Bangladesh in June.
He was once again excluded from the team announced on Monday for November’s series against England, as selectors opted to give opportunities to several younger players.
“A little bit sad and a little bit inevitable too, but I’m announcing my retirement from international cricket,” Maxwell said on the Final Word podcast.
“We probably had numerous discussions before and after the T20 World Cup,” he added of talks with selectors. “And it was pretty open-ended.
“There wasn’t any pressure from (Australia team management), and we decided to sort of leave the door open.
“There was a couple of series that were coming up (in which) they were going to look to the future, and we saw that in Bangladesh with guys getting their opportunity and performing really well.
“There was a small hope or discussion that I might have been able to potentially get a send-off game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (against England).
“But I can completely understand the direction they’re going with this squad.”
During his international career, Maxwell appeared in 130 T20 matches for Australia, scoring 2,897 runs at a strike rate of 154.42. He retired as the country’s third-highest run-scorer in the format, behind David Warner and Aaron Finch.
Although his Test career consisted of just seven appearances, he also represented Australia in 149 One-Day Internationals, accumulating 3,990 runs.
Maxwell has also retired from first-class cricket with Victoria but will remain active in the Big Bash League, continuing to represent the Melbourne Renegades.
“I’m grateful for the time I was able to play for my country,” he said.
“If you had offered me that career when I first walked into the Victoria change rooms in 2009-ish, I would have bitten your hand off.”
