"Desperately wanted to..." - Glenn Maxwell breaks silence on SL Tests snub

Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell has finally opened up on being ignored from the Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. The swashbuckling allrounder was in the running for selection due to his ability to play spin and his experience in sub-continental conditions.

However, Australia's selection panel, led by the chairman of selectors George Bailey, decided to go with some young faces and provide them with the experience of a subcontinent tour. Along with Maxwell, fast-bowling allrounder Mitchell Marsh also didn't find a place in the squad.

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Glenn Maxwell breaks silence on his omission from Australia's Test squad vs Sri Lanka

After his omission from the squad, Glenn Maxwell broke his silence and gave a mature answer. While he wanted to be a part of the squad, he understood that the selectors were keen on giving the youngsters a valuable experience which is totally different to that in Australia.

"It's just selection. There's always going to be people wanting to be there and I made no secret that I desperately wanted to be on that tour, but I can completely understand their reasoning," Maxwell was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

Maxwell also claimed that Australia's confirmation for the World Test Championship Final has played a big role in his omission. He feels that the selectors didn't have any pressure to win which allowed them to ignore his valuable experience in the subcontinent and test the younger players.

He congratulated the youngsters for their selection and is excited to watch players like Cooper Conolly on their first Test tour. He also claimed to have made the same decision had he been in the selector's seat.

"The fact that they're already in the World Test Championship final, they've got a couple of Tests in Sri Lanka and there's going to be some sub-continent tours over the next few years, so they get to look a few new guys in those conditions."

Glenn Maxwell's Test career

Glenn Maxwell has been a vital part of Australia's white-ball teams for several years but hasn't played Test cricket since 2017. His last Test match came against Bangladesh at Chattogram 38 and 25 across both the innings in Australia's win.

Overall, he has played 7 Tests and scored 339 runs at an average of 26.07 with one hundred. His only ton came against India in 2016 at Ranchi when he smashed a patient 104 off 185 balls on a slow pitch. At 36, it seems unlikely that he will get a chance to play Test cricket again.

Glenn Maxwell's form in BBL

While he is out of Test contention, Glenn Maxwell's form in white-ball cricket looks great. The allrounder recently smashed 90 off 52 deliveries with 4 fours and 10 sixes for Melbourne Stars in their Big Bash League game against Melbourne Renegades.

His knock came when his team was under immense pressure of being bowled out for a sub-100 score. However, Maxwell played one of the best innings in the tournament's history to take his team to a good first innings total. The Stars went on to win the match later.