Can Glenn Maxwell turn RCB star power into big performances?
Virat Kohli's team spent Rs14.25 crore to buy the explosive Australian batsman, who has not justified his abilities in IPL.
Glenn Maxwell’s is an enduring Indian Premier League (IPL) love story, though it has mostly been a one-sided affair. The four teams the Australian has featured in across eight seasons did not really get returns for their confidence and investment on one of T20 cricket’s most dangerous, and enigmatic, batsmen.
The big debate heading into Thursday’s mini-auction was whether it made sense to splurge money on Maxwell. After all, Kings XI Punjab (now renamed Punjab Kings) had discarded him after scoring 108 runs in 13 games (avg 15.42) in IPL 2020. They had brought back the player who took them to the 2014 final—he was Man-of-the-Tournament scoring 552 runs—but dumped him after an underwhelming season. The team ended sixth, equal on points with the last two sides.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for a whopping R14.25 crore after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings, the dynamics of the mini-auction adding to the potential which teams have seen in Maxwell. In eight seasons in IPL, he has not been a winner, having played two seasons for Delhi, five (including 2014-17) for Punjab and one year for Mumbai Indians.
Maxwell’s talent has never been in doubt, but performances in IPL have been far too sporadic. After his IPL flop show, he had three solid innings in Australia’s 2-1 ODI series win over India. He also hit fifty to secure Australia’s lone win in the T20 series loss that followed.
His Big Bash League show—379 runs in 14 games, averaging 31.58 with three fifties—could only help Melbourne Stars end seventh out of eight teams.
RCB—chasing their first IPL title—need an impact player to bat after Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. It could be a match made in IPL heaven—De Villiers and Maxwell taking apart bowling attacks in tandem, and the Aussie will add to RCB’s star power.
Suresh Raina predicted big interest in Maxwell in the build-up to the auction.
“He’s been lucky at auctions. But each time he has gone to Australia and done well. When you have performed so often on different occasions, teams tend to think, this day or the next, he will deliver. Besides, he can bat anywhere, bowl, is a gun fielder and can play 360 shots…teams will chase him,” he said.
Maxwell has felt the pressure of expectations. Inconsistency apart, he battled depression during the 2019 World Cup. With the T20 World Cup to be played in India this year, RCB will hope Maxwell finally delivers big.
