Glenn Maxwell reacts to KXIP return, ODI omission, and T20 World Cup prospects

The omission of Glenn Maxwell from the Australian squad for the ODI series against India did disappoint the swashbuckling all-rounder but with the next T20 World Cup slated to be played in Australia in October next year, he conceded that he will look to get back into the national team pretty soon. He added that a world tournament in home conditions is too hard a temptation to look beyond.

Yeah certainly, especially with the T20 World Cup around the corner. There’s that big carrot I suppose at the start of next season and I’ll be doing everything I can to work towards that.

Maxwell had taken an indefinite break from competitive cricket midway through the T20I series against Sri Lanka. He did make himself available for the ODI series in India but was overlooked from the squad. However, there is no denying the fact that it will be difficult to keep a player of his stature away from white-ball cricket for a long time.

Despite being disappointed at his ouster from the national team, Maxwell understands the reason behind him being left out for the India ODI’s. He hasn’t played too much competitive cricket in the recent past and had an indifferent year with the Australian team.

I probably haven’t dwelled on it as much as I probably did in the past, I suppose not shelving it and just not thinking about it, being able to have the conversations with people about it and deal with it appropriately. That’s probably something I haven’t done very well in the past and to be able to get through the other side and perform well, really makes a big difference.

He made a stunning return to competitive cricket just a day ago when his blitz of 83 off 39 deliveries that ensured Melbourne Stars began their BBL campaign with a resounding 22 run victory against Brisbane Heat.

Maxwell also became one of the most expensive buys in the IPL auction for the upcoming season when he returned to Kings XI Punjab for a whopping sum of ₹10.75 crore. The all-rounder expressed his delight at the prospect of returning to the franchise which made him a sensation in IPL. He expressed his excitement on returning to the franchise he made it big at in 2014.

I was extremely happy. We were following it with coaching staff. We were watching all the Stars players come out and when my name came out we were just refreshing like mad. Couldn’t watch it anywhere so we were just watching it on the Twitter feed. Very exciting and glad to be going home to the Kings XI. I’ve got a lot of great memories there, had four really good years there so looking forward to getting back.