Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who took a mental health break recently to rejuvenate himself, has come out and spoken about the incidents that led to his mental exhaustion. The middle order batsman said that being on the road non-stop for the last four to five years mentally and physically ruined him, which forced him to take a break midway from Australia’s T20I series against Sri Lanka.
“I was pretty cooked when I decided to take the time off. Big reason why I did take that time away is I was pretty mentally and physically ruined,” Maxwell was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“I think it was eight months on the road, living out of a suitcase and that probably had been going on for four or five years, just constantly on the road and it all just caught up with me at that time.
“I really want to thank Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria and the Stars for giving me that space and allowing me to have that time away from the game and get myself right.”
Elaborating on his issues, Maxwell stated that it was his girlfriend who first noticed that something was not right with the cricketer.
“It was actually my partner who suggested I speak to someone, she was the first one who noticed it, so I should probably thank her as well. Once I had that initial conversation it was a big weight off my shoulders,” he said.
“My girlfriend was probably No. 1, it wasn’t an easy job for her to deal with me going through my mood swings for the first few weeks, but Michael Lloyd was the guy I had the initial conversation with, he’s been someone who I’ve confided in since back in the academy days, so I’ve known him for well over a decade now.”
Maxwell is not fit and raring to go and will make his comeback in the Big Bash League that starts from later this month. He will represent and captain Melbourne Stars.
“It probably took a bit longer than I thought it was going to take, it was an interesting six weeks, away from the game and there was probably times I thought I was going to come back earlier,” Maxwell said.
“I’ve been getting back in the swing of things for a while, I’ve been around the Vics change rooms for the last two or three weeks now, so I’ve sort of been floating around and watching a few of the one dayers and just trying to get back into the change room atmosphere again.
“Once I got back into club cricket, the cycle started to feel a bit more normal again and I feel like I’m back at home. Coming back here with the Stars feels like home again, a new coach, a bit of familiarity as an ex-player, but it’s a great change room to be a part of, it’s very welcoming.”
