IPL | Maxwell opens up about why he got himself dropped Premium

Glenn Maxwell's honest admission about his poor form and decision to take a break from IPL.

This is an age when sportspersons are shielded from even the mildest of criticism. In this context, Glenn Maxwell must be praised for volunteering to face the media and answer tough questions.

It came as a surprise when Maxwell walked into the room in the post-match press conference here on Monday. The Australian played no part in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the run-fest. And with 32 runs in six IPL games, he has been woefully out of form.

Maxwell made an admirably honest admission when asked if he missed the match due to an injury.

“I went to Faf (du Plessis) and the coaches after the last game and said I felt it was probably time we tried someone else. I have been in this situation in the past where you can keep playing and get yourself deeper into a hole. I think now is actually a good time for me to give myself a bit of a mental and physical break; get my body right. If I’m required to get in during the tournament, I can hopefully get back into a really solid mental and physical space where I can still have an impact,” Maxwell stated.

“We have had a pretty big deficiency straight after the PowerPlay, which has been my area of strength over the last couple of seasons. I felt like I wasn’t contributing in a positive way with the bat, and with the results and the position we find ourselves on the table, I think it’s a good time to give someone else an opportunity to show their wares. Hopefully, someone can make that spot their own,” Maxwell added.

The 35-year-old did not put a timeline on the duration of his break, but he will hope to get back to form in time for 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which commences in a little over a month. Maxwell was unable to pinpoint exactly what went wrong this season, putting it down to the fickle nature of T20 cricket.

“T20 cricket can be like that sometimes — it’s a pretty fickle game. Even if you look at the first game, I ran one off the middle of the bat to the ’keeper. I picked up the length really well, saw a scoring opportunity, but opened the face a little bit too much. When you are going well, that goes wide of the gloves, you get a boundary, you are four off one, and you are away for the tournament.