Australian selectors keep door open for Glenn Maxwell's inclusion for India tour next year
Australian selectors have left the door ajar on Glenn Maxwell's Test return for the tour of India next year, with the all-rounder likely to play first-class cricket in over three years ahead of the Big Bash League (BBL).
The Victorian last played long-form cricket at the start of the 2019-20 season before opting for a mental-health break.
Following Australia's ODI series against England, which ends on November 22, a brief window remains during which Maxwell could not play the Sheffield Shield fixture against New South Wales, starting December 1, but also for Australia A against the touring South Africans a week later.
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However, the veteran all-rounder faces a short turnaround time if selected to play for Australia A, given that the Melbourne Stars' first BBL game is the following night.
Chief selector George Bailey stated that they could adopt a left-field selection for the India tour as they expect the conditions to be different. He also revealed that Australia will likely have an extended squad.
He was quoted as saying by The Age:
"I would envisage that the Test tour to India may have some different names to it than what the team does over the summer. Just because the conditions that we expect to face are every chance to be very different again.
"You probably take a slightly bigger squad anyway – I don’t think we’d be taking a skinny squad across there, plus it’s at the back of a summer and there’s a reasonable amount of cricket that would have been played by then."
Maxwell, who last played a Test in 2017, had a productive tour of India that year. The 34-year-old scored a hundred in Ranchi and managed 159 runs in two Tests at an average of 39.75. Along with him, Victorian captain Peter Handscomb and Queensland opener Matt Renshaw are also in the mix for the four-match Test tour.
"I really wanted to play" - Glenn Maxwell on not playing the second Test in the Sri Lanka tour
The all-rounder revealed that he felt shattered at not having the opportunity to play a Test in Sri Lanka as he was keenly looking forward to it. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:
"I was shattered when I got told. I really wanted to play. I loved being a part of it and I loved the thought of playing again. I felt like I was ready again. I loved working with the coaches and coming up with new tactics to deal with difficult spin bowling and balls exploding. If it was the same conditions for both Tests, I probably would have played."
Glenn Maxwell has been added to the Australian Test squad 👌
Jon Holland and Todd Murphy will also remain in Sri Lanka to assist with preparations for the Test series.
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With Travis Head under the injury radar, Maxwell's name came up for the second Test. However, the former cleared the fitness test and played the same.