IPL 2024: RCB all-rounder Glenn Maxwell takes an indefinite break from IPL and cricket
The RCB batter says he is not in the right physical and mental shape to continue playing cricket
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Glenn Maxwell has decided to give himself a ‘bit of a mental and physical break’ from the rigours of T20 cricket.
The Australian batter has struggled to put runs on the board and opted to sit out of RCB’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday night. RCB lost to SRH by 25 runs in a record-breaking run-fest. The loss was RCB’s sixth in seven matches in the ongoing IPL.
Maxwell said taking the call to sit out of the match and take a small break was an easy decision. “For me, personally, it was a pretty easy decision. I went to Faf (du Plessis) and the coaches after the last game (against the Mumbai Indians) 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,” he said in a press conference after RCB’s loss.
He added: “I wanted to give myself not just the physical break but also the mental break to give myself the right to play professional cricket. I take a lot of pride in my performance, and I put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get my body right for every game. And it has been a pretty tough struggle, given my body is on the wrong side of 30. I think that physical and mental toll probably just wore me down a little bit.”
The Australian said he hoped to get back into better mental and physical shape to make an impact, if needed. “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,” he added.
Maxwell got off to a horrid start in the IPL, getting out for 0 against CSK in the first match. He managed to score just 3 against the Punjab Kings, 28 against the Kolkata Knight Riders—his highest in the ongoing edition of the IPL, aided by two dropped catches—and another zero against the Lucknow Super Giants, 1 against the Rajasthan Royals and zero against the Mumbai Indians.
In the bowling department, Maxwell picked up four wickets—two each against LSG and PBKS.
The 35-year-old batter said since he felt he wasn’t contributing in a positive way, compounding with RCB’s form this season, he decided to give up on his place in the playing XI and hoped someone else could utilise the opportunity. “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, and hopefully someone can make that spot their own,” he explained.
Maxwell opined that T20 cricket can be very hard mentally, and the fatigue is huge, especially when things aren’t going your way. “I probably just haven’t got away; it’s as simple as that. In the first few games, I feel I made reasonably good decisions, but I was still finding ways to get out. It can happen in T20 cricket, and when it snowballs like that, you can go searching and try too hard and forget the basics of the game,” he opined.
He did not rule out the possibility of making a comeback to IPL, should his mental health improve. He lauded the RCB support staff for their unwavering support and cited the lack of runs as the reason for his decision to take a break. “We’ve been working together on taking a fair bit of ownership, and the off-field leadership staff is trying to help out as much as they can. Unfortunately, runs just haven’t come the way they should have when you are in really good form. I don’t think I’ve had a better six months in cricket leading into this tournament. So it’s frustrating when it ends up like this. But if I can get my body and my mind right, there’s no reason I can’t finish the tournament well if I do get another opportunity,” he concluded.
