Glenn Maxwell reveals leg injury nightmare as he eyes Test comeback

Australia National Cricket Team cricketer Glenn Maxwell talked about his return to Test cricket for the national team. He said that ever since he had a leg injury, he has been struggling with his fitness but is keen to tour Sri Lanka early next year for the two-Test series.

Glenn Maxwell arguably is one of the most exciting cricketers to have played for the Australia National Cricket Team.

His ability to change the game for the team within the span of a few balls has been the stand-out feature of his career. He has helped his team register many famous wins as he has been equally phenomenal with bat and ball.

While his ability in the white-ball cricket is undoubted, Glenn Maxwell is yet to make a major impact in the Test cricket.

He has featured only in seven Tests in his career, and there have been several reports that he will be part of the Test series, which Australia will play in Sri Lanka next year.

Glenn Maxwell, who played the last Test match in 2017, has a decent success in the short career so far in the longest format of the game. He has mustered 339 runs in seven Tests at 26.07 and also has a Test century, which he scored in India. His last appearance in the red-ball game came in July 2023 for Warwickshire.

While talking about his Test comeback, Glenn Maxwell highlighted his leg injury, saying that to be fit for the longest format of the game, he needs to put in a lot of hard work. He expressed his desire to play the Sri Lanka Tests, saying that he is hopeful that his body get fit for four days of cricket. Speaking as quoted by news.com.au, he explained:

"It’s still my leg. It’s what is giving me the most grief since breaking it, so it’s still a work in progress. It’s something I have to work hard on every day to make sure it’s in a position where I feel like I can get through a full day of cricket unscathed and hopefully pain-free

"It would be great if I could get my body into a position where I can play over (in Sri Lanka), but as far as Shield cricket, I’m not sure how much they’ll take that into consideration, and whether or not I need to prove I can get through four days of cricket before I play Test cricket.

"Hopefully, my body’s going well, and I can put my hand up for the Test stuff as well, but there’s still a lot of work left to do and a lot of boxes to tick before then."

"It’s just completely different conditions - Glenn Maxwell on playing Tests in Sri Lanka

Glenn Maxwell further talked about playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka, saying that domestic performance won't matter for the selection in the tour as conditions are different there. While elaborating on the same, he explained:

"They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there.

"It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions – it’s a different beast."

It remains to be seen if Glenn Maxwell will be back in the Australia Test setup before the Tests against Sri Lanka. The Pat Cummins-led side will be taking on India next in the five-match Test series.