I was 'shattered,' says Glenn Maxwell after missing out on 2nd Test in Sri Lanka

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has revealed he was "shattered" after missing out on playing the second Test in Sri Lanka.

Maxwell, who last played a Test in 2017, was very close to wearing the Baggy Green again when Australia toured Sri Lanka in June-July this year. However, Australia decided to go with Travis Head instead of the Victorian cricketer due to the conditions in Galle.

In a recent interview, Maxwell said that he was looking forward to returning to the Test side and had even prepared some tactics to tackle spin. Nevertheless, he did accept that the conditions certainly suited Head more.

"I was shattered when I got told. I really wanted to play. I loved being a part of it and I loved the thought of playing again. I felt like I was ready again. I loved working with the coaches and coming up with new tactics to deal with difficult spin bowling and balls exploding.

"I'm glad Heady got through his fitness test because I'd have hated to be in because of an injury to one of your players. If it was the same conditions for both Tests, I probably would have played. But they made a slightly better wicket and the selectors made the right call," Maxwell was quoted by Cricinfo, as saying in the interview.

Australia lost the second Test by an innings and 39 runs and drew the two-match series 1-1.

Maxwell is one of the vital cogs of the Aussie limited-overs side, mainly because of his explosive approach. He can also bowl off-spin and his excellent fielding skills are an added bonus.

"It's certainly nice to have support, where I feel like I probably didn't have that in the early days of my Test career. It was probably the other way around, where it was just like, no, can't have this guy in the team. So it's sort of nice to see it change.

"When I came back into the side in 2017, it felt like there was a real shift of positivity coming my way, which was rare. For so long, whenever I played a reverse sweep, it was frowned upon and it's become a staple of Test cricket wherever you play in the world," the 33-year-old player added further.

Maxwell, who made his Test debut in India in 2013, has scored 339 runs at an average of 26.07, with 104 being his highest score. He has also picked up eight wickets, including a four-wicket haul. Overall, Maxwell has scored over 4,000 runs in First-Class cricket at an average of 39.81, while he also has 77 First-Class wickets to his name.

The Australians are currently on a break and their next series is scheduled to take place in the end of August when they host Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series. Following that, the Australians host New Zealand in three ODIs before traveling to India for a three-match T20I series just ahead of the T20 World Cup, which they are set to host in Oct-Nov.