Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell says the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been so good to him that he will play in the lucrative T20 cricket competition until he “can’t walk any more”. The IPL has been the perfect platform to showcase Glenn Maxwell’s explosive batting and the 35-year-old is one of the four foreign recruits Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have retained for 2024 season.
Glenn Maxwell is known for tearing the opposition bowling attacks into the shreds , and his expertise would be widely sought. Also on spinning wicket Glenn Maxwell will bee seeing rolling arms while bowling an over or two for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the team will hope to see a rampaging Glenn Maxwell this season in built up to the T20I World Cup later in June.
India is Glenn Maxwell’s happy hunting ground
Playing in India obviously suits Glenn Maxwell – he smashed his only Test hundred there in 2017 and helped Australia win the ICC Cricket World Cup title last month. Playing against his good friend and RCB teammate Kohli, Glenn Maxwell took the crucial wicket of India captain Rohit Sharma in the final at Ahmedabad as Australia dismissed India for 240 runs.
Earlier, Glenn Maxwell etched his name in history books with the highest-ever one-day international (ODI) score by an Australian batter when he scored 201 runs not out in the group-stage match against Afghanistan when his team was staring in the face of defeat. They were seven wickets down for 91 runs when Glenn Maxwell put together a 202-run partnership with his captain Pat Cummins that took Australia over the line.
Hobbling and grimacing with pain from the cramps in his entire body during the match in Mumbai, Glenn Maxwell pulled off a scarcely believable feat as he also broke the record for the highest score, and the only double hundred, in an ODI run chase. Australia will hope for a telling contribution from Glenn Maxwell in the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States next year, and the Victorian said playing in the IPL before the showpiece event could prove invaluable.
Glenn Maxwell has had a really good run in International cricket- Faf du Plessis
At the Star Nahi Far event in Bengaluru, hosted by Star Sports, RCB captain Faf Du Plessis, known for his astute leadership and remarkable batting prowess, shared insights into various facets of the game with the upcoming IPL 2024 in mind.
From reflecting on the profound impact of captains like MS Dhoni to shedding light on the evolution of players like Glenn Maxwell, Du Plessis provided a captivating glimpse into the dynamics shaping the upcoming IPL season. With a keen eye on RCB’s bowling lineup and his personal equation with cricketing icon Virat Kohli, Du Plessis’ revelations offered a compelling preview of what fans can expect on the field.
RCB skipper Faf Duplessis enjoyed batting with Glenn Maxwell in IPL 2023 season and the duo stitched some mammoth partnerships along the way. Faf Du Plessis explained on how Glenn Maxwell’s aggressive brand of cricket helped him bat at his own pace. On this Faf Du Plessis stated :
“I think we never really saw the full potential of Glenn Maxwell before the IPL. But with RCB, I think he has really found consistency. Last year batting with him made batting so easier for me because he is so destructive against the spinners. He has had a really good run in international cricket as well. Hoping that form continues,”
Glenn Maxwell scored 400 runs in 14 games in IPL 2023 at an incredible strike rate of 183.49 with five half-centuries. Du Plessis believes the Australian’s form is crucial for RCB’s chances in IPL 2024. About how Glenn Maxwell has improved in the past two years Du Plessis said :
“It’s very obvious for me that when I joined, there were quite a few strong personalities within the team, and I loved that. I love using people that have strong personalities and try to pull out their strengths to try and make my job a little easier.
I don’t see it as me running the show, I feel like you pull people along the journey with you and you make sure you make them feel like they’re a part of it. Because then they want to contribute and you can get the best out of them. And certainly with Maxi, his time at RCB has been very fruitful for him in terms of IPL cricket,”
Faf Du Plessis added :
“I think we never really saw the full potential of Glenn Maxwell before the IPL, he always had these little small amazing innings, but it was very in between, like it would be an amazing 80 or 90 but then there would be a few low scores. But with RCB, I think he’s really found consistency. The last two years he’s been excellent and I can tell you, last year batting with him makes batting a lot easier for me because he’s so destructive, especially against spinners,”
“He’s so powerful against spinners that you feel as the partner batting with him that you can go at the pace that you want to go. Sometimes it’s at his pace and sometimes it’s not. But it takes so much pressure off you as the other batter. So he’s a great guy to bat with because he just goes and it’s good to see how well he’s done,”
“Obviously, you can see in the last two years, his international cricket as well has also gone to another level. So hoping that that form can continue. I think he’s a crucial part of us having a really good season,”
RCB open their campaign with an away fixture in Chennai, where they haven’t beaten CSK since 2008. They then return to play three straight home games before flying to Jaipur to end their first leg of matches as per the tournament’s schedule and would look for the team to straight away start on winning ways.