Hamstring injury casts doubt over Glenn Maxwell’s BBL availability

Glenn Maxwell could miss the start of the Big Bash and a crucial opportunity to play red-ball cricket after scans revealed a significant hamstring injury.

The veteran all-rounder suffered a grade two tear to his left hamstring while fielding during Monday’s third T20 against Pakistan in Hobart, and is set to miss at least four weeks of cricket.

As well as threatening the start of his BBL campaign with the Melbourne Stars, the injury is poised to complicate Maxwell’s bid to return to Australia’s Test squad for February’s two-match tour of Sri Lanka.

Cricket Victoria confirmed the scan results on Wednesday.

There were plans for the 36-year-old to play a Sheffield Shield game for Victoria before the BBL commenced, while it is understood he was also in the frame to play for a Prime Minister’s XI side against India in a two-day game beginning November 30 in Canberra.

Maxwell played the last of his seven Tests for Australia on a tour of Bangladesh in 2017, but has put his hand up for a role in the Sri Lanka series and made a rare appearance for the Victorian second XI last month to put his body through four days of consecutive cricket.

He revealed in August that communication with the national selectors about a potential Test return had been positive, but he needed to prove he could handle the physical demands of a match after struggling with the complications of his horror broken leg in 2022.

“They’ve been pretty open to selecting outside the box for players who do well in those conditions, and knowing what it’s like in Sri Lanka, I don’t think Shield form is going to be a huge factor in how someone is going to go over there,” Maxwell said at the time.

“It’s just completely different conditions, you’ve got to have a really solid game plan against spin and a really good idea of how you’re going to tackle them in those conditions – it’s a different beast.

“I understand that (the team) might not look the same as a lot of the Australian teams that play in everyday Tests.”

Maxwell’s Melbourne Stars begin their campaign away against Perth Scorchers on December 15, giving the former captain 25 days to recover in time for the start of the tournament.