Chris Lynn lauds Glenn Maxwell for taking break from cricket for mental health
London: Australia batsman Chris Lynn has said that the news related to Glenn Maxwell's mental health issues sent shivers down his spine and he also lauded the all-rounder for realising that cricket is not for him right now.
On Thursday, Cricket Australia (CA) had announced Maxwell's decision to take a break from cricket to look after his mental health, and as a result, he was replaced by D'Arcy Short in the Australian squad for the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka.
"It sends shivers down my spine when you hear something like this, Glenn's a close mate of mine. When one man goes the whole team feels it but I think the whole of Australia feels it. What he has got to realise is that, as men, we don't speak up enough about it so I am really proud that he has really come out and assessed that cricket isn't for him right now," ESPNcricinfo quoted Lynn as saying.
"He has to realise there are 25 million people from Australia behind him and that is the main thing. Whatever we can do, whether it is more or less, we will be there. I wish him all the best, if he needs me I will be there," he added.
Maxwell recently played a knock of 62 runs against Sri Lanka in the first T20I against Sri Lanka and this knock enabled Australia to post 233 runs in the match.
In the second T20I, the all-rounder did not get a chance to come out to bat, as David Warner and Steve Smith chased down Sri Lanka's total of 117.
"I feel for the bloke and just hope he can bounce back because over the last week we've seen how good he is. Cricket will have a big dent with him sitting on the sidelines, but I don't want him to rush at all," Lynn said.
"A lot of people think it's a gravy train, play for Australia and get to travel the world but there's a lot of hard work beneath the water that people don't see and the mental toughness that a lot of cricketers have to show is next level. It is a good thing for cricket he has spoken up, there are organisations who can help out. We are seeing a number of people taking a break from the game, but as I said it's not all gravy, it's a big iceberg and sometimes we only see the tip of it," he added.
Maxwell has played 110 ODIs, 61 T20Is and 7 Tests for Australia.
Australia squad for the final T20I against Sri Lanka: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
The side will take on Sri Lanka in the final T20I later today.
