Moises was one of my first phone calls: Maxwell opens up about mental health battle

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell opened up about his battle with mental health and said Moises Henriques was the first person with whom he shared what he was feeling.

"Moises was one of my first phone calls after I got the courage to pick the phone up and actually talk to someone," cricket.com.au quoted Maxwell as saying.

Maxwell became the first cricketer to take a break from the game of cricket citing mental health issues.

"He has been amazing in that sort of space and he was able to talk me through what I was going to be feeling over the first few weeks," the all-rounder added.

After returning to the field of cricket, Maxwell made a huge impression in the Big Bash League (BBL). He captained Melbourne Stars and guided the side to the finals which they lost against Sydney Sixers.

The 31-year-old found a great friend in Moises with whom Maxwell was comfortable sharing his pain.

"Not everyone goes through the same sort of feelings, but I found he was someone who I was able to confide in and talk to about pretty much everything that was on my mind and what I was going through. And he actually made me smile for the first time in a while, even if it was a joke at our expense, and the way we were feeling," Maxwell said.

Maxwell has admitted that the battle with mental health is an ongoing one, but his biggest takeaway from the recent experience is to be honest about how he's feeling going forward.

"I'm a lot more open in the way I communicate with people. I don't beat around the bush. I make sure I'm 100 per cent honest with everyone. I want people to know exactly how I'm feeling and that's not being brash, that's not being over the top. It's just being honest, so they can be honest back to me as well," Maxwell said.

He recently got engaged with his Indian-origin girlfriend Vini Raman.