"To retain an overseas batter sometimes isn’t the smartest move" - RCB's Glenn Maxwell was unsure ahead of IPL 2022 auction

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell recently revealed that he was unsure whether the franchise would retain him ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction.

Maxwell joined Bangalore ahead of IPL 2021 and made an immediate impact, scoring 513 runs, including six half-centuries, in 15 matches at an average of 42.75.

Despite having a good season, Maxwell wasn't sure about the franchise retaining him, considering the auction dynamics. The ace Australian all-rounder recently opened up on what went through his mind during that period while speaking on the RCB podcast.

“You never know what’s gonna happen because it’s a big auction," he said. "And like, with how many people they were going to retain and we had, obviously, a couple of bowlers — Siraj, Harshal, Yuzi (Chahal), then AB, Virat, and those young Indian players, and all could have been retained at some stage.

“So to retain an overseas batter, sometimes isn’t the smartest move," Maxwell continued. "It seems straightforward, but in my head, there was obviously a lot more I had to go through and when I got the phone call that I was gonna be retained. I was pumped and couldn’t wait to stick around."

Maxwell repaid the trust shown by RCB with another good season, amassing 301 runs in 13 IPL 2022 games at a strike rate of almost 170.

The Victoria-born cricketer will be seen donning the RCB jersey after the franchise retained the senior all-rounder ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2.

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RCB Squad for IPL 2023

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Will Jacks, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, and Sonu Yadav.

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