IPL 2014: Virender Sehwag praises Glenn Maxwell; says the Australian is more destructive than Gayle and himself

Glenn Maxwell

India’s most destructive opening batsman Virender Sehwag admits that his IPL teammate Glenn Maxwell is more destructive than him or even Royal Challengers Bangalore’s mighty Chris Gayle. Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell has been giving nightmares to bowlers since the beginning of this season of the IPL. With a strike rate of 203.27, Maxwell is termed as the most feared batsman of this edition of IPL.

When asked if Maxwell reminded him of himself, the 35-year-old Sehwag said: “No, no. I was not that destructive. I was a bit, but not that much.”

On being asked about what he likes best about Maxwell’s batting, Sehwag said: “I don’t think he is worried about his game; he’s more worried about golf and practices more golf than cricket. He just goes out there in the middle, gives his 100 per cent out there and comes back happily with whatever he gets.”

West Indies’ Gayle has one of the biggest hitters of the ball in previous seasons of the IPL. Due to a hamstring injury, he could not play many matches in this season so far. When asked if Maxwell is more dangerous than Gayle, Sehwag said: “I think Maxwell. He and Miller. If the two of them going, it becomes very difficult for the bowling side because if one misses a ball, the other makes up for it with a six.”

On being asked about his own performance, Sehwag reportedly said to IPL’s official website:  “The best is yet to come. I am striking the ball well and would like to continue to contribute to the team. I have been scoring 20s and 30s, but now it is time to score like the way Maxwell has been doing. Hopefully, in the coming games I will score big.”

Sehwag went on to praise Maxwell even more:  “The kind of form he is in, it is so difficult to stop him. Nothing matters to him – the bowlers or the fielders or the boundary. I felt like he was playing book cricket and every time he opened a page, it was four or six. It has been great to watch him bat.” he said.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings’ skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also praised Maxwell’s batting after losing the match against Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday. “Maxwell batted exceptionally well and he was supported by the other batsmen as well. You need some serious talent to hit those sixes one after the other. He is someone who is very different, like Sehwag or Tendulkar and he is batting at his best,” Dhoni said.

When man-of-the-match Maxwell was asked to comment on his batting, he said: “Pitch was lovely, coming on quite well. The spinners held up a little and we got away quickly. We (him and Miller) love batting together, we talking about it a lot and it was fun to have a big partnership together and hit a few out of the park.”

“Practice it and keep trying to expand my game and try and hit the ball to different parts of the ground. Keep trying to do what I’m doing and we’re winning as well. We didn’t have an idea in mind, thought the pitch would get better in the second innings but once we went there we saw how good it was and we just kept going,” he concluded.