Maxwell ruled out of SA tour with elbow injury

Melbourne: Australia's dashing all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is set to miss the beginning of the IPL after an elbow injury on Tuesday ruled him out of the upcoming ODIs and T20 Internationals in South Africa.

The tour of South Africa starts on February 21.

Maxwell will undergo surgery on his left elbow and will be replaced by D'Arcy Short in both squads.

Cricket Australia said he might require at least six to eight weeks to attain full match fitness, which means he is likely to miss the beginning of the IPL too, which is starting on March 29. The 31-year-old is representing Kings XI Punjab in the franchise-based league.

A "shattered" Maxwell said the decision to withdraw from the South African tour was difficult.

"I was not confident that I could perform at international level with my elbow in its current state and have decided to undergo surgery straight away to fix the



issue," Maxwell said in a statement.

"I would like to thank Justin Langer, Ben Oliver, Trevor Hohns and the whole Australian squad for their understanding."

The South Africa tour was the first time Maxwell had been picked for national duties since taking a break from cricket in October due to mental health issues.

Australia's national selector Trevor Hohns said Maxwell's increased pain could not have been overlooked.

"We are disappointed to lose Glenn this close to the tour as we were looking forward to welcoming him back to the national side in both the 20 and 50-over formats after his break during the summer," Hohns was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

"Unfortunately, the pain he has experienced in the elbow in the latter stages of the BBL increased over the weekend and he will have surgery immediately to rectify the situation.