Maxwell keen on international return with eyes set on T20 WC

Maxwell last played for Australia during the home T20I series against Sri Lanka in October last year, after which he had taken a break from the game to manage his mental health. He returned to action during the Big Bash League 2019-20, where he captains the Melbourne Stars outfit. He scored 398 runs at 39.80 and picked up 10 wickets at 26 during his team's run to the final and seemed set to make an international return during Australia's limited-overs tour of South Africa.

However, he had been forced to undergo surgery after having sustained an injury to his left elbow. While the estimated recovery period of six to eight weeks threatened to keep him away from the national contention through the home season, the 31-year-old has resumed light batting drills and aims to make a return soon.

"When I got the news that I needed surgery, I had to map out a bit of a plan of how I wanted my year to go and depending on how my elbow recovers … is going to be key on when my return date is," Maxwell told cricket.com.au.

"I'm still hoping for that New Zealand T20 series over there and if I can get up for that, I think that would be a great lead-in to the IPL and the rest of the year leading up to that World Cup hopefully. I'm trying to give myself as many opportunities to play T20 cricket this year and get myself right for that T20 World Cup."

Maxwell revealed he wasn't fully fit during the BBL and the nature of the injury worsened as the competition progressed.

"Pretty much every session I'd start off in a bit of pain – I'd try to get through that and find a way to play pain free," he said. "Once I got through that (initial pain) I felt I was ready and once adrenaline takes over (in a game) you feel like you're ready to go.

"Towards the finals it started to get worse … I had the final and I was still in a bit of pain and got told by the surgeon that it requires surgery urgently. It was a bit of a shock to me and changed my plans a bit."

Maxwell, who is one of the only three cricketers to have hit three centuries or more in T20I cricket, and currently the only player to feature in the top ten of MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings for both, batsmen and all-rounders, looks forward to maintain his glorious run in the format, while stating that Australia's recent form and home advantage make them a tough team to beat at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup later this year.

"In the T20 format I've had a lot of success especially over the last four or five years," he said. "I'm really proud of the work I've put into the T20 internationals, being able to adapt to different situations and being able to score three hundreds for Australia in that format.

"It's not the easiest place to bat, the middle order, but to be able to have success there and help the team get better … I'm proud. We've moved our way up the rankings and into a position where teams should probably fear us on our home soil."