'Living out of a suitcase, being my own hardest critic, I was pretty cooked,' Maxwell opens up on mental health break

Returning from a six-week break from cricket, Glenn Maxwell said on Friday that he was ready to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) and also in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia if his form earned him a spot.

Maxwell, who is all set to lead the Melbourne Stars, spoke to media at the MCG ahead of the BBL 2019-20 season that is due to begin on Dec. 17. The IPL auction, on the other hand, will take place two days later and Maxwell, who previously played for Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians, will hope to find a franchise for himself.

The 31-year-old had taken a break from cricket to deal with his mental health issues. Opening up on the issue, Maxwell said the break has taught him to not be so harsh on himself, learn to strike a balance between mind and body so that longer days away from home do not burn him out once again.

"I was pretty cooked when I decided to take the time off. The big reason why I did take that time away is I was pretty mentally and physically ruined. Eight months on the road, living out of a suitcase that probably had been going on for four or five years.

"It all caught up with me at that time ... You go through a lot of waves of emotions over the first few weeks [of the break] and especially that first week, that was probably the hardest," said Maxwell, who mentioned that it was a partner who suggested he spoke to someone about how he was feeling.

Maxwell, who has made close to 200 appearances for Australia since his debut in 2012, insisted that while he has been a bad victim of social media, it was his hard criticism that broke his mental strength eventually.

"I have been a pretty bad victim of social media and a fair bit of abuse but I have become pretty accustomed to it. It slides off my back. I did put a bit of pressure on myself to try and play as much as I could this year and, rightly or wrongly, I didn't come out of it the way I thought I was going to.

I think I have been pretty hard on myself, I have been my own hardest critic for a long period of time. That can wear you down and it is more the stuff you put on yourself, not so much from the outside. I suppose being able to relax a bit more and enjoy playing the game," Maxwell, who visited Victoria's stadium to ensure he remained fit even during his time off the game, told media on Friday.

"I probably look at things a little bit differently but a little bit more respect for taking care of myself in all aspects of the game and not sort of losing sight of taking care of myself in those times where you're in a hotel room pretty constantly and being able to have that time to myself and refresh," the Aussie added.