Glenn Maxwell has decided to take a break from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season to refresh himself physically and mentally. In fact, he was the one who asked the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) management to rest him for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). His form has been extremely poor this season with three ducks already in six matches and has mustered only 32 runs at a mediocre average of 5.33.
The Aussie all-rounder has suffered a thumb injury in the last game and many thought that was the reason for him to not play against SRH. But Maxwell himself has revealed that he asked the management to try someone else in his place in the playing XI. The cricketer is willing to take a physical and mental break to refresh and come back to make an impact for the team. He also recalled the old times when he continued to play despite being in bad form and that only worsened things for him.
"For me, personally, it was a pretty easy decision. 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.
"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," Maxwell said after the match.
For the unversed, Maxwell had endured a similar off season while playing for the Punjab franchise back in IPL 2020 when he scored only 108 runs in 11 innings at an average of 15.42 and a strike rate of 101.88 while not hitting a single six in the entire edition. Interestingly, Maxwell seemed to be in the form of his life leading into IPL 2024 having smashed 552 runs at an average of 42.46 and a strike rate of 185.85 in 17 T20 matches since November 2023. But things haven't gone to plan for the cricketer and RCB will only hope that returns to the team in good headspace to make a match-winning impact again.
