Glenn Maxwell will return from a six-week break from the professional game to lead the Melbourne Stars in their Big Bash campaign.

Maxwell took a spell away from the game due to mental health reasons, after admitting to Australia coach Justin Langer that he was "not having that much fun at the moment" during the T20I series against Sri Lanka in October.

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He missed the white-ball leg of Pakistan's tour, but returned to play club cricket for Fitzroy-Doncaster three weeks ago and has joined up with the Stars' pre-season camp ahead of their season opener against the Brisbane Heat on December 20.

David Hussey, the Stars' head coach, said he was delighted to have Maxwell in the camp.

"We're pleased to see Glenn in green and ready to lead our side with a big season ahead," Hussey said. "He's an incredible talent and a key part of our club but health and wellbeing comes first and it's important that he's been able to take some time away to focus on that.

"We're pretty excited with how our list looks and what we're going to bring to the table. We were obviously very close last season and want to go that one step further. We've got a great bunch of guys and I can't wait to see what this group can produce this summer."

Maxwell is also set to go under the hammer at next week's IPL auction, and is expected to fetch a big-money bid.