Australian batsman, Glenn Maxwell is all set to make a comeback to professional cricket when he turns out on field for the Melbourne Stars in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League, which begins next week.
Maxwell had announced an indefinite break from the sport back in October, citing mental health as the reason why he chose to be away. It came off the back of a blistering 28-ball 62 against Sri Lanka in a T20I match just days earlier, showing how even a typical knock does not indicate the best of times for an athlete.
The middle-order batsman received widespread support from the cricket fraternity for being so open about his issue, with Indian skipper Virat Kohli praising him and talking about his own mental troubles during his nightmare of a tour to England in 2014.
Maxwell is the captain of the Melbourne Stars, and will be teammates with fellow Aussie, Nic Maddinson, who was also one of the players to admit to mental health troubles after his skipper revealed his in public.
Read | Cricketers’ mental health thrown into the spotlight
Melbourne Stars are the second team to represent the city in the Big Bash League after the Melbourne Renegades and are based out of the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Melbourne Stars, along with the Hobart Hurricanes are the only two teams to have not lifted the Big Bash League trophy since its inception in 2011. They made it to the finals last season, only to lose out to inter-city rivals, Melbourne Renegades. Maxwell will be hoping to change that statistic this season and will want to start with a bang when his side face Brisbane Heat in their first encounter on December 20.
The Aussie maverick will also be keenly observing the auctions of the Indian T20 League, set to be held a day earlier and will no doubt attract attention from a lot of teams.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis
