Australia all-rounder's candid admission about missing India Test series: 'Will nag me for the rest of my life'
The star player was in line to play in the Test series as a bowling all-rounder but a freak injury has kept him out of any cricket since the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Australia's tour of India begins with the much-awaited four-match Test series starting on February 9 in Nagpur. In keeping with the spin-friendly conditions that is generally found in India, Australia have gone Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson and Todd Murphy as their options in that department alongwith frontline spinner Nathan Lyon.
There are a couple of big names missing in this list. One of those is Adam Zampa, who has admitted that he is re-evaluating his future in long-form cricket after the snub. The other is Glenn Maxwell, who was in the radar for playing in the series as a spin-bowling all-rounder.
Maxwell has never been able to cement himself in the Australian Test team but his best performances in the longest format came on Australia's last tour of India. He scored his only Test century in that series. However, a freak injury after the 2022 T20 World Cup led to him fracturing his left fibula, ruled him out of any cricket for a long period and even put him in danger of losing his leg.
“Probably will nag at me for the rest of my life. It’s nice getting the opportunity to watch your teammates play, especially over there. I think they’ve got the squad that’s probably as good as I’ve seen go over to India since I’ve been watching Tests over there, anyway,” said Maxwell while doing commentary on a Big Bash League game on Fox Cricket.
While he is not going to be part of the Test series, there are chances that Maxwell could return in the subsequent ODI series in India. "He’s not going to make it by the end of the BBL, unfortunately. But he’s very diligent in his return to play with his rehab. He’s been down to the St Kilda Football Club a bit and has been at the Junction Oval with Cricket Victoria," Melbourne Stars coach David Hussey had told SEN earlier this month.
"I dare say towards the end of January, he may be available or hitting some cricket balls to try and get back to play some state cricket and Shield cricket to hopefully get on that plane for the One-Day tour of India for Australia."
