DHAKA, BANGLADESH - AUGUST 22: Glenn Maxwell of Australia pours water over his head during an ... [+] Australian Test team nets session at Sher-E Bangla National Cricket Stadium on August 22, 2017 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell has announced he is taking an indefinite mental and physical break from cricket during the IPL tournament where he has been playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The all-rounder is no stranger to being transparent about the way he feels and parking sport for health reasons.

If ever there was a man who lived for cricket, it was Maxwell. "It's a game that I've loved since I can even remember being able to walk and to have so many negative thoughts was quite alarming," he said to Cricket.com.au in March 2020. The Australian was one of the first cricketers to cite mental health issues when it was announced he was taking time away from the game in October 2019. The day after admitting that things were not in shape, he still smashed 62 off 28 balls against Sri Lanka in a T20. The relief of getting it out was a release.

Eventually, it got to a point where the mask had to slip. The banality of saying everything is fine to interested and detached parties would not do anymore. The automatic process of putting on a front, like putting on the Baggy Green cap as a statement of identity, was not helping. Maxwell decided to hide his internal thunder until it would crack.

Five years ago, The Big Show, a moniker that the player is not a fan of , didn’t want to be the star of the game’s biggest trophy. He was physically and mentally shot. When injured during a net session in that World Cup campaign in England, the Victorian was almost hoping for a way out: “When I got hit, I was angry and a part of me was hoping [my arm] was broken. I was like ‘this is it, I just need a break’ I was thinking about things I could do on the way back (from hospital) to snap it.”

The refresh, if it can be called that, was a success in that it allowed the player to recalibrate and understand what really made him the person outside the suitcase of constant touring. He spoke to Moises Henriques, who had suffered from depression, team psychologist Michael Lloyd and sports psychiatrist Ranjit Menon to discover the way back. Putting on the pads for his club team was also cathartic, albeit somewhat anxiety-inducing as the path to rediscover the innocence of the sport began.

Undoubtedly, cricket has a history of being one of the most wearing in the world for schedules. National captain Pat Cummins gave a recent interview where he spoke about the relentless treadmill of cricket being 12 months a year. The joy of the game can get lost in the extended franchise season squeezed between Test series tours and World Cups.

“Cricket may not be a physical contact sport but its mental challenges, with so much waiting time, are much tougher than they look,” Australian journalist Robert Craddock wrote in one of his columns. It is true. There are so many more failures than successes in the sport and cricket’s nature can elongate and internalize the worry. Strikers can get a quick shot at redemption if they miss an open goal. Batsmen do not have that chance.

It was Maxwell himself who asked to be dropped after scoring just 32 runs in six innings so far for RCB in the IPL. "I've probably been in this situation before in the past where you can keep playing and get yourself deeper into a hole. I think now is a good time to give myself a mental and physical break and get my body right,” he said.

MUMBAI, INDIA - NOVEMBER 07: Glenn Maxwell of Australia celebrates after hitting a six for the ... [+] winning runs, finishing unbeten on 201 not out during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023 between Australia and Afghanistan at Wankhede Stadium on November 07, 2023 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Getty Images

It was only a few months ago that Maxwell smashed an unbelievable double century against Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup on virtually one leg. It was clear that it took a huge amount out of him at the time. One of the follow-up innings he made in the T20 series - incomprehensibly scheduled immediately after Australia’s World Cup victory against beaten finalists India - was just as entertaining.

Now is the time to switch off the remote control. Those staggering sixes can never be taken for granted. Last time, the Big Bash got Maxwell going again. Maybe the T20 carnival in the Caribbean and the States will see him back for some rum fun.