Glenn Maxwell | Getty

Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell made a resounding comeback to cricket after taking a short break to sort out mental health difficulties. He smashed 83 off 39 balls to script Melbourne Stars’ 22-run win over Brisbane Heat in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL).

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Maxwell’s knock was studded with 7 fours, 5 sixes and he announced his intentions to keep performing in the BBL to strengthen his claims for T20I selection, particularly with a home World Cup coming up in October next year.

"Yeah certainly, especially with the T20 World Cup around the corner," Maxwell said.

"There's that big carrot I suppose at the start of next season and I'll be doing everything I can to work towards that."

Although Maxwell made himself available for the upcoming tour of India, he wasn't named in the 14-man ODI squad announced by the selectors this Tuesday (December 17).

"I probably haven't dwelled on it as much as I probably did in the past," he said.

"I suppose not shelving it and just not thinking about it, being able to have the conversations with people about it and deal with it appropriately.

"That's probably something I haven't done very well in the past and to be able to get through the other side and perform well, really makes a big difference."

On the eve of his return to professional cricket, Maxwell also received a big boost as he was picked in the IPL 2020 auction for a hefty sum of INR 10.75 Crore by Kings XI Punjab.

"I was extremely happy. We were following it with coaching staff," Maxwell said.

"We were watching all the Stars players come out and when my name came out we were just refreshing like mad. Couldn't watch it anywhere so we were just watching it on the Twitter feed.

"Very exciting and glad to be going home to the Kings XI. I've got a lot of great memories there, had four really good years there so looking forward to getting back."

(Inputs from Australian Associated Press)