Ricky Ponting addresses Glenn Maxwell’s decision to step aside from RCB amid poor form

In a rather surprising move, Glenn Maxwell decided to step aside from Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s playing XI to focus more on his mental well-being. The Australia international was in poor form and was struggling heavily with the bat. And decided to step aside from RCB’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 15. RCB decided to play an extra seamer in the form of Lockie Ferguson, but the plan didn’t work well as they conceded a whopping 287 runs in the first innings.

Addressing the problem Maxwell is facing, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who is currently serving as the head coach for Delhi Capitals, mentioned that the all-rounder is one of the ‘big dogs’ of RCB and there was pressure on him, especially after the franchise managed to win only one match so far in the IPL 2024 season. Ponting added that Maxwell needs to stay away from the game and the franchise should think about his mental and physical wellbeing at this hour.

Also Read - RCB made some good strides against SRH, let ourselves down with the ball: Glenn Maxwell

“For someone like Glenn if you talk about, in that team (RCB), him being one of the 'Big Dogs' along with Virat, a lot of pressure comes on a couple of players playing in that team if they don't perform, the results tend to not follow them if you see what they have done in the tournament so far, pressure builds up on an individual player as well,” Ponting was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.

“I read that article today morning that Glenn wants to step aside, just have a few games off and try and refresh but every individual is different right, some guys would want to get going and push through that and get some runs on board and thus that will change their way of how they think about the game and some guys need to step back. That’s what you have to be really understanding of it as a coach or anyone around the cricket team that health, wellbeing, and welfare of the player is the thing you think about first,” the 49-year-old added.

Also Read: Glenn Maxwell sheds light on stepping aside for SRH clash in Bengaluru

Notably, Maxwell has scored only 32 runs in the six matches that he has played and also picked up four wickets at an average of 19. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old is in no mood to leave RCB early and go back to Australia, but he assured to stick by the team and contribute better if the franchise needs his service down the road.