Glenn Maxwell Takes IPL 2024 Break for Mental and Physical Refreshment
Glenn Maxwell recently made headlines by requesting a break from the IPL, citing the need for mental and physical rejuvenation.
Despite a strong start to the season, Maxwell’s performance took a dip, prompting him to step back temporarily. In this article, we delve into Maxwell’s decision and its potential implications.
In the IPL 2024, Maxwell has had difficulty scoring runs. He had only managed to score 32 runs at an average of 5.33 in six innings before to Monday’s game. Although there were rumors that he might have missed the game due to a thumb injury, that was untrue.
“It was a fairly simple decision for me,” Maxwell remarked following RCB‘s sixth loss in seven games. “After the last game, I spoke to Faf [du Plessis] and the coaches and said I thought it was probably time we tried someone new. I’ve been in a position where I could keep playing and dig myself even deeper into a hole. I believe that now is a wonderful moment for me to take a little mental and physical break and take care of my body. I can ideally go back into a really good physical and mental place where I can still have an impact if I have to check in during the event.
“After the powerplay, which has been my area of strength for the past two seasons, we have had a very significant deficit. I didn’t feel like I was making a good contribution with the bat, and given the outcomes and our current standing, I believe it’s appropriate to give someone else a chance to showcase their skills in the hopes that someone will be able to claim that slot for themselves.”
By the time of IPL 2024, Maxwell was at his best. Since the beginning of November, he has amassed 552 runs at a 42.46 average and an 185.85 strike rate in 17 T20s. He also scored two hundreds at this time.
However, he gave the Chennai Super Kings the first-ball duck to begin the IPL. He has since had two more ducks and has only once survived more than five balls, that being against the Kolkata Knight Riders, when he managed a 19-ball 28 thanks to two mishandled catches.
“T20 cricket can be like that sometimes – it’s a pretty fickle game,” he stated. “Even in the opening game, I hit one to the keeper off the middle of the bat. I spotted a scoring opportunity and picked up the length extremely nicely, but I opened my face a bit too much. When things are going well, you get a boundary, go wide of the gloves, score four points instead of one, and you’re out for the tournament.
It’s probably just that I haven’t managed to escape. I think I made pretty excellent selections in the first three games, but I was still finding ways to get out. In Twenty20 cricket, it can occur, and when it does, you could seek far and wide, put in too much effort, and lose sight of the fundamentals of the sport.”
On the other hand, the SRH game ended up being very high scoring. SRH scored the second-highest total in T20 cricket when they batted first, 287 for 3. In response, RCB scored 262 for 7, giving them the highest total for a Twenty20 game at 549.
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Maxwell was questioned if he would have liked to have played one more game after all. “I did notice during the powerplay that the pitch was not as slow and two-paced as it has been in the first few games,” he joked. And I realized that missing the game was definitely a mistake; it would have been enjoyable to be in the batter’s box.
“However, as I previously stated, I wanted to grant myself the freedom to play professional cricket by granting myself both a physical and emotional rest. I work really hard behind the scenes to prepare my physique for every game, and I take great pride in my performance. Considering that my body is on the wrong side of 30, it has been a difficult battle. That emotional and physical toll, I believe, simply tired me down a little.”
2020’s IPL season for Maxwell was comparable as well. At a strike rate of 101.88 and an average of 15.42, he scored just 108 runs in 11 innings while playing for Kings XI Punjab at the time. That year, he failed to hit a single six.
Maxwell remarked, “That was probably a different scenario.” “I was bowling extremely well at the time, and that was hurting me. As a result, I was really using the bat more in the back end as a spinner. There weren’t many balls left in the game because we had the two top run scorers in the competition at the time, KL [Rahul] and Mayank [Agarwal]. I thus failed to pick up any match rhythm. Furthermore, I was only ever there for a few balls at a time.
“At the time, I told the Kings XI management the same thing: we can have an international bowler take my place. However, we lacked an offspinner as well. I therefore played a bit like an overseas off-spinner with some batting ability.
“This place has excellent management. Together, we’ve been working on assuming some responsibility, and the off-field leadership team is doing everything they can to support us. Regretfully, when you’re in really terrific form, runs haven’t come as they should. Before this tournament, I don’t think I’ve played cricket in a better six months. Thus, it is aggravating when things turn out this way. But if I can align my mind and body, there’s no reason I can’t perform well in the tournament if I do get another chance.”
