Australian power-hitter Glenn Maxwell is back from mental health break as recently he took part in a training session with the Victoria squad at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
During the T20I series against Sri Lanka in October, Maxwell stepped away from cricket, citing mental health issues. After his announcement, Victorian batsmen Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson also took a break from playing to boost their mental health.
The destructive Aussie will return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, and in the official players’ auction, he might turn out to be the biggest attraction. Maxwell has played for three IPL franchises so far – Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), and Kings XI Punjab.
Since the Lancashire player has bountiful experience of the fastest format of the game, he will be pivotal for teams who are looking for a middle-order attacking batsman who can bowl a few spells and can turn the game with his incredible fielding.
Let’s have a look at the three teams that could target Glenn Maxwell in the upcoming auction:
Kings XI Punjab
Having played for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Glenn Maxwell knows what it takes to fulfill the requirement of Mohali-based franchise. During the 2014 edition, Maxwell scored 552 runs for KXIP with an outstanding average of 187.75.
In the 2017 season, Maxwell was rewarded by Priety Zinta co-owned franchise as the captain of the team. That did improve his performance, and he scored 310 runs in 14 matches.
The current squad of Punjab consists of players like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, and Mayank Agarwal, who can be handy at the top order. If they take Maxwell in the side, then their lower-middle order will get strong as the Australian can bat comfortably either at No. 5 or 6.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Virat Kohli–led RCB finished at the bottom in the last season. Thus the team would be under immense pressure to deliver big this year. The Challengers took some sturdy decision ahead of the auction as they kept only two overseas players in their squad.
Bangalore doesn’t have the problem of top-order as they have stars like AB de Villiers and skipper Kohli and with the rise of Devdutt Paddikal in the domestic circuit, their Top-3 batsmen are set. Since RCB have released Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, and Colin de Grandhomme, they would need a player in the middle who can be handy with both bat and the ball.
Maxwell meets the requirements mentioned above, so there are chances that Mike Hesson & Co. may have a go at Australia’s devastating right-hander.
The track at M. Chinnaswamy stadium would also suit the Aussie as he has scored a mesmerizing T20I ton at the venue during the start of this year against the Men in Blue.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi Capitals (DC) have a decent squad in the form of skillful Indian batters like Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. Recently, they have included Ajinkya Rahane as well, but despite these talented players, the Delhi-based franchise lacks a quality finisher who can destroy the opposition’s bowling without taking much time to settle, and Glenn Maxwell fits perfectly in the criteria.
Though Delhi have quality all-rounders like Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, still, the team needs a hard-hitting batsman who can shift the momentum in few deliveries and can also bowl a couple of overs in the middle of the innings.
Thus, in the upcoming auction, one shouldn’t get surprised to see team Delhi going for the Aussie star.
