Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Australian all-rounders have decided to take an indefinite break from IPL 2024. Maxwell spoke in a press conference after RCB’s sixth defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Maxwell, who has been severely criticized because of his bad form in this year’s IPL, He was replaced by Will Jakes in RCB’s game against the Sunrisers.
In the post-match conference, Maxwell said that he is not in the best of space and has decided to take a break from the IPL 2024.
Maxwell said, “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 and 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.
Maxwell further added, “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.”
This is not the first time that Maxwell has taken a break like this. However, the Australian all-rounder feels that if he’s not in the best form, it is time for the franchise to try and see other options until he bounces back.
Maxwell said,T20 cricket can be like that sometimes; it’s a pretty fickle game..
“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.
Maxwell further added, “I probably just haven’t gotten 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.”
