Glenn Maxwell, who was not picked for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, has confirmed that the decision to sit out was his after reflecting on his lean patch and realising he “wasn’t contributing in a positive way.”
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RCB find themselves at the bottom of the points table in the 2024 IPL, with just one win from seven games. Against Hyderabad, when they made two big changes in their XI: they did not field Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj for the encounter, with Cameron Green also not featuring in the XI.
Earlier, there was speculation whether Maxwell might sit out due to a thumb injury, but Mo Bobat, their director of cricket, had said the evening before that there were no injury concerns with Maxwell.
While Siraj’s economy rate of 10.41 has been a major letdown, Maxwell’s woeful form increased the struggles further. He registered three ducks in six innings with his other three scores being 3, 28 and 1.
Maxwell revealed after the RCH-SRH game that he decided to opt out from the clash because he needed a “mental and physical break” from the game.
“After the first few games hadn’t gone to plan personally for me, it was a pretty easy decision,” Maxwell told reporters after the game. “I went to Faf and the coaches last game and said it was time to probably try someone else. I have been in this situation before in the past, where you can keep playing and dig yourself into a hole. Now is actually the best time to give myself a mental and physical break.”
“With our results this year, it was quite an easy decision. We haven’t been playing as well as we would have liked as a team and the results show that. My personal results have reflected the results we have had. Pretty big deficiency straight after the powerplay and the middle overs, which have been an area of strength of mine the last couple of seasons.
“I felt like I wasn’t contributing in a positive way and it felt like, with the position we find ourselves at the table, to give someone else the opportunity to try their wares and hopefully, someone can make the spot their own.”
Maxwell also hinted that he could also miss the upcoming games and that the decision to ask for a break was not a one-off. “If I’m required again in the tournament and I can get back into a solid mental and physical space where I can have an impact still for RCB [I will be up for selection again].”
RCB play Kolkata Knight Riders in an away game next with the match scheduled for April 21.
