Glen Maxwell celebrates after scoring 50 during a match. File photo

“True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart,” American author and disability rights activist Helen Keller once said. Australian cricket star Glenn Maxwell takes this statement very seriously. He makes for a great team man and a wonderful husband. But there is another unseen side to his personality few know about: he takes friendship very seriously, and that means his childhood friends. He flew four of them to India’s shores to get a feel of the country’s spirit and hospitality — and life surrounding his team Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The best part of your childhood friends is that they don’t look at your status or position and seek to exploit it. They vibe with you naturally and want you to remain yourself — be as natural as you can. And there is something  more: you may not be talking to them over the phone or connecting with them via emails for weeks or months, but when you meet them, they give you a huge, huge welcome that is oh-so-memorable — such is their attachment.

Anthony Davies is a mechanical plumber, Brendon Walsh and Nathan Walsh are teachers while Aaron Daniels is an electrician. The nature of their job is not important, it is their camaraderie that counts. The awesome foursome are simply enjoying the sights and sounds of India’s Silicon Valley Bengaluru, all thanks to their wonderful cricketing friend.

Their friendship is over two decades old. So how did it all start?

Brendon Walsh said they were probably 11-12 years old, playing some junior representative cricket and Glenn even at that age was incredible. He was extremely talented and Walsh really enjoyed his energy and positive attitude. They hit off from an early age. Then Nathan, his younger brother, naturally became part of that group. “Anthony, Aaron and I went together to the High School and through my connection they met Glenn as well and from 15-16 this cricket group has been friends for life,” Walsh remarked, according to Indo-Asian News Service.

Maxwell has a deeper reason behind carting in his mates from Down Under. India is a cricket-crazy country, and he is just at a loss for words to describe the frenzy that surrounds the experience of cricket in the nation. “It is my 27th or 28th time in India and I can only tell so much about life here,” he says, but when his friends feel the overarching enthusiasm it is going to be very special for them and will remain etched in their mind for a long time to come, he remarks.