The Australia all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell, looked back at the freakish leg injury in 2022, which still bothers him while playing the game and could hamper his chances of fulfilling his dream of playing Test cricket again. The veteran is very optimistic of touring Sri Lanka for their two-match red-ball series towards the start of the next year.
The 35-year-old has renowned himself around the world because of his skills in the shortest format of the game, where he has smashed nearly 10000 runs in over 400 innings at a strike rate of 153.66, thanks to seven centuries and 54 half-centuries.
However, Glenn Maxwell hasn’t been able to crack the longest form of the game yet, managing only 339 runs in 14 innings at an average of 26, with just one century besides his name. Since making his debut for Victoria in 2011, the spin bowling all-rounder has featured in only 69 games, registering 4147 runs at an average of around 40.
“I am not sure how much they will take Shield games into consideration”- Glenn Maxwell
The Melbourne-born has revealed that he had been putting in a lot of hard yards to make sure that his legs would go through a full day of cricket without any pain, but he had not been sure how the shield games would help him in changing the mindset of the selectors before their trip to Sri Lanka.
Also Read: Mohammad Shami Prepares To Make Comeback!! Included In Bengal Team For 2024-25 Season
“It’s still my leg. It’s what is giving me the most grief since breaking it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure it’s in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain-free.” Glenn Maxwell expressed in an interaction with news.com.au.
The last FC game for the all-rounder came more than a year ago when he was playing for Warwickshire against Kent during the County Championship first division. In their only innings, the right-hander smashed 81 runs in 67 balls, decorated with ten boundaries and a couple of sixes.
“It would be great if I could get my body into a position where I can play over (in Sri Lanka), but as far as Shield cricket, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into consideration and whether or not I need to prove I can get through four days of cricket before I play Test cricket.” Glenn Maxwell revealed.
“Hopefully, my body’s going well and I can put my hand up for the Test stuff as well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then.” He continued during the conversation.
Things were not comfortable with the 35-year-old, who met the leg injury in 2022 before their limited-overs series in England. He also suffered a concussion during last year’s ODI World Cup, besides losing consciousness with an alcohol-related scandal at the start of the year.
The experienced player feels that the selection committee is likely to pick players who have been pretty good against the spinners instead of those who have scored runs on those fast and bouncy surfaces of Australia during shield games.
Also Read: IPL 2024: Glenn Maxwell Slammed By Kevin Pietersen, Irfan Pathan After He Scores Duck Against RR
“They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there.” Glenn Maxwell concluded. “It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions- it’s a different beast.”
He will be in action again from September 19 at Trent Bridge during their five-match ODI series against England.
