Glenn Maxwell has no intention of putting a line through his international T20 career just yet, even with the calendar looking light and his 40th birthday looming in 2028.
The 37-year-old all-rounder, fresh from Australia’s early exit at last year’s T20 World Cup, confirmed in Melbourne on Wednesday that he still “hopes” to wear national colours again.
“I think not making a decision around my future was probably based more on what’s to come over the next 12 months,” Maxwell told reporters. “There’s not a whole lot of T20 cricket planned, so there’s probably no need to make any sort of formal announcements, and just see how my body’s going and see how I’m travelling and if there’s opportunities to play in the future, hopefully I’m fit and firing.”
Australia have only eight bilateral T20Is scheduled before August 2027, the next of them a three-match series in Bangladesh in June. Selectors are widely expected to prioritise the ODI portion of that sub-continent tour as they build towards the 2027 50-over World Cup, which leaves fringe T20 specialists in an awkward holding pattern. Maxwell said he has already chatted with the panel about where he might fit. Details of those talks remain private, but the tone, by his account, was “open and honest”.
Short domestic deals keep him busy
Maxwell recently extended his Big Bash League stay with Melbourne Stars until the end of the 2027-28 summer and has inked short-term contracts in the Pakistan Super League, Major League Cricket in the United States and a fledgling Europe-based competition in which he also holds a small ownership stake. Those commitments, he argues, will keep him match-ready if Australia do call.
“Fit and firing? Hopefully,” Maxwell said when asked whether his body could handle another four-year cycle. “But yeah, not setting any dates.”
Form under the microscope
Numbers since October have not been flattering. Across 12 innings for Australia and the Stars he averages 15.55 with the bat, striking at 113.82. At the World Cup his returns were 9, 31 and 22 at 110.71 – a world away from the free-scoring reputation that once terrified attacks. His off-spin has offered control (economy 7.52) if not wickets (four at 45.50), helped by a neat 2 for 13 against Oman.
Yet Maxwell insists the eye test matters more than the spreadsheet. “I felt like I got better and better throughout the World Cup. I probably more judge it on how I’m running around the field and how I’m feeling, probably more so than any statistics regarding wickets and runs. And I just felt like I was able to get through games a lot easier. Felt like I was playing my role as well as I could, and felt like I still had plenty to offer.”
Ponting sceptical, selectors coy
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has already suggested Maxwell will struggle to feature at a home T20 World Cup in 2028, let alone make the cut for cricket’s return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles earlier that year. Cricket Australia will confirm its next round of central contracts in April, and with limited T20Is on the horizon, Maxwell’s name may well be absent.
Even so, the player argues that any long-term forecast is risky. Bodies break, roles change, tournaments pop up. “I’m happy to keep turning up, doing the work and seeing where it lands,” he said.
The wider picture
Australia’s current T20 side is in transition. Travis Head, Tim David and Tanveer Sangha are being earmarked for bigger responsibility, while the board is keen to blood more quicks capable of bowling high pace through the middle overs. Balancing that youth drive with experience is the puzzle.
Maxwell’s ability to bat anywhere in the order, bowl tidy overs of spin and field in the ring remains useful, particularly in sub-continental conditions. Whether that versatility outweighs declining numbers will become clear only when squads are named on a series-by-series basis.
Looking ahead to Bangladesh
For now, the immediate question is whether Maxwell boards the plane in early June. If he does, the likely brief is simple: help shepherd a younger side through tricky slow pitches, score briskly at No.5 or No.6 and offer overs if the surface turns. If he doesn’t, franchise cricket will keep him busy until the next window opens.
Either way, he is not rushing to tweet a retirement graphic. He would rather leave the door ajar – creaking a little, perhaps, but still very much unlocked.
