3 teams that could go for Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell is one of those players who just grab everyone’s attention. Everything he does on or off the field diverts people’s attention. However, the star Aussie all-rounder has often failed to live up to his potential. His form for Australia has been on the decline and he has been very inconsistent over the last couple of years.
Maxwell has been a big disappointment in the IPL as well. The 30-year-old has played for three teams (Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils) so far and barring a season or two, he has largely disappointed. He started off with Delhi Daredevils in 2012 before moving to Mumbai Indians in 2013. He had an excellent season (scoring 552 runs at a strike-rate of 187.76) with Kings XI Punjab in 2014 and was one of the main factors in their run to the final.
However, since that fabulous season, Maxwell has failed to touch the 200-run mark in three out of the four seasons. The only season he crossed it was in 2017 when he struck 310 runs in 13 innings.
Hence, except for one season, Maxwell has been a big flop in the IPL. Though his career IPL strike-rate of 161.13 is excellent, his average of 22.90 is disappointing.
Last year, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a whopping 9 crores. However, his poor returns (169 runs in 12 innings) meant that the Delhi management have decided to let him go. The question now is which team does Maxwell fit in? Thus, let’s look at three teams that could go for Maxwell in the upcoming auction.
#3 Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Rajasthan Royals who made a comeback to the IPL after a two-season ban in 2018 released a 16-man retention list. Most of the batsmen retained are top-order players. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi are all top-order batsmen and are most effective at the top. Hence, Rajasthan need a proper middle-order batsman.
Thus, Maxwell’s addition could well be a decent one with most of RR’s players crowded at the top. He could also form a potent pair alongside Ben Stokes in the middle-order just like he did with David Miller at Kings XI Punjab four years ago.
While it is true that RR need a lot of bowling resources, a player like Maxwell can be a really good fit in the middle order.