Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has decided to take a break to rejuvenate himself amidst his struggles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.

The Australian cricketer approached the RCB team management, expressing his wish for someone else to be selected in his place for the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday (April 15).

Maxwell has faced challenges in the ongoing IPL edition, having scored only 32 runs in six innings at an average of 5.33. While there were speculations about him missing the SRH game due to a thumb injury, this was not the case.

“In a press conference following RCB’s 25-run loss to SRH, Maxwell explained his decision, stating, ‘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.’

He further elaborated on his decision, acknowledging, ‘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.”

Glenn Maxwell showcased excellent form leading up to the IPL. Prior to the tournament, he had demonstrated his prowess with the bat, accumulating 552 runs in 17 T20 matches since November of the previous year, boasting an impressive average of 42.46 and a striking rate of 185.85. This included the remarkable achievement of scoring two centuries.

However, Maxwell’s performance in the IPL 2024 took a sharp downturn. He began the campaign with a disappointing golden duck against the Chennai Super Kings and struggled thereafter, enduring two additional ducks. His only notable innings came against the Kolkata Knight Riders, where he managed to score 28 runs off 19 balls.

“T20 cricket can be like that sometimes – it’s a pretty fickle game,” he said. “Even if you look at the first game, I ran one off the middle of the bat to the keeper. I picked up the length really well, saw a scoring opportunity, but opened the face a little bit too much. When you are going well, that goes wide of the gloves, you get a boundary, you are 4 off 1, and you are away for the tournament.

“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.”

The RCB faced off against SRH in a thrilling encounter that became a high-scoring affair. Travis Head’s remarkable century, scoring 102 runs off just 41 balls, and Heinrich Klaasen’s quickfire 67 off 31 balls propelled the Sunrisers to a massive total of 287/3, setting a new record for the highest-ever total in IPL history.

In response, RCB displayed resilience, putting up a commendable fight to reach 262/7. Dinesh Karthik played a brutal innings, smashing 83 runs off just 35 balls, while Faf du Plessis contributed 62 runs off 28 balls, and Virat Kohli added 42 runs off 20 balls at the top of the order.

Reflecting on the match against SRH, Maxwell expressed regret about missing out on the opportunity to play. He observed that the pitch didn’t exhibit the slow and two-paced nature seen in previous games, particularly during the powerplay. He acknowledged that it would have been beneficial to participate in such a high-scoring game and expressed a desire to be out there batting.

“But as I said, 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.”

Maxwell has faced challenges with scoring runs in previous IPL seasons. In the 2020 edition, while playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), he struggled, managing to score only 108 runs in 11 innings at an average of 15.42.

“That was probably a different scenario,” Maxwell said. “Back then the thing that was hurting me was I was bowling really well. So I was actually playing more as a spinner who was used at the back end [with the bat]. We had KL [Rahul] and Mayank [Agarwal] who were the two leading run-scorers in the competition at that time, so there wasn’t a lot of balls left in the game. So I wasn’t able to get any match rhythm. And when I was, it was only for a few balls here and there.

“So I said the same thing to the Kings XI management back at the time, that we can have an overseas bowler in my place. But we didn’t have an offspinner as well. So I sort of played as an overseas offspinner who could bat a little bit.

“The management here has been outstanding. 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.”