The players’ auction of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is set to take place in Chennai on Thursday (February 18). All the eight franchises will participate in the mini-auction. The team owners had already submitted their list of retained and released players on January 20. However, the trading window is currently active and is supposed to close on February 4.
Just like every edition, teams will look for some specialist all-rounders who could act as a balance in the side. One such player who might attract teams is Australian superstar Glenn Maxwell.
Maxwell will be back in the IPL auction once again as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) released him last week. Maxi had a disastrous season in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he couldn’t even score a single six for KXIP, who failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Ahead of IPL 2020, the Mohali-based franchise had roped in Maxwell for a mega price of INR 10.75 crore but the star all-rounder only managed to score 108 runs in the tournament and scalped just three wickets.
After the poor season in the world’s biggest T20 extravaganza, Maxwell is having a pretty good outing in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21. The Victorian has accumulated 379 runs from 14 games at an impressive strike-rate of 143.56 with three half-centuries.
Since he is back in the form, it is expected that franchises will again bid for Maxwell in IPL 2021 auction. On that note, let’s have a look at four IPL teams which might want to include Maxwell for the upcoming season:
1.) Chennai Super Kings
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had the worst outing in the previous edition of the cash-rich league. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their IPL history. One of the prime reasons for CSK’s failure was their batting. They especially missed a power-striker for the slog overs in order to score quick runs.
For IPL 2021, the ‘Yellow Army’ would look for an all-rounder who could slam some boundaries down the order and help the team with few overs in the middle of the innings, and Maxwell could be the perfect choice for MS Dhoni-led side.
2.) Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals (DC) have two overseas spots left, and they could take Maxwell in the side. DC have released the likes of Alex Carey and Jason Roy – both are attacking batsmen. DC lack a firepower batsman towards the end, and Maxwell could fit in perfectly.
The interesting thing to notice here is that DC went behind Maxwell in the IPL 2020 auction and could go again as well.
DC have a pretty strong Indian core batting unit as well as bowling department featuring the likes of Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Ravichandran Ashwin. All Delhi need is a solid attacking batsman for the lower order.
3.) Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) enjoyed a pretty good season in IPL 2020. They made it to the second round of the lucrative-league for the first time after 4 years. Despite that, the RCB decided to release 10 players ahead of IPL 2021 auctions.
RCB have released Chris Morris, and now the Virat Kohli-led side does not have a proper all-rounder who could contribute equally in both the departments. In this situation, Maxwell is such a player who could be their ideal buy for RCB.
Maxwell has a habit and potential of scoring big sixes and considering the size of M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Aussie striker can become a deadly weapon for the Challengers.
4.) Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished IPL 2020 at the bottom of the points table. No wonder, ahead of IPL 2021, the Royals had chosen to release their skipper Steve Smith, who not only failed as the captain but even as a batsman.
Now, RR have given the leadership responsibility to Sanju Samson. They also retained the English trio of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer. The Royals need one more overseas player to fulfil their combination, and a clean-hitter like Maxwell could be a good option.
Since Stokes has opened the innings in the previous season, it is expected that he will do the same in the upcoming edition as well. In this condition, RR need a suitable all-rounder like Maxwell for the lower-order who could score runs in quick succession and bowl a few overs when needed.
