Watch: Glenn Maxwell celebrates Kings XI Punjab reunion in style
Swashbuckling batsman Glenn Maxwell is widely known of his fiery approach while he is at the crease and this charecter of his played a major role in deciding his value when it came to the IPL 2020 auction.
Previously the 31-year-old used to play Delhi Capitals, and this time around he was bagged by Kings XI Punjab for a mammoth Rs 10.5 crore which made him the second most expensive player in this years auction. It was another feather in his cap for Maxwell and he celebrated the occasion by knocking 83 off just 39 balls for the Melbourne Stars on his return to cricket.
The Aussie looked unstoppable against Brisbane Heat and his innings included seven fours and five sixes. In this calender year, Maxwell has amassed 635 runs in 22 innings at an average of 33.42 in ODIs with scores of 56, 113 not out and 62 in the three T20Is.
Talking on why KXIP splashed out big money for Maxwell, head coach Anil Kumble stated that they are looking at experience and all-round package, and Maxwell fits into that category.
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Stop it, @Gmaxi_32!
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 20, 2019
(but please don't) #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/LskX9GC86S
Glenn Maxwell is smoking 'em, and the fourth umpire is catching 'em! #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/Hrn8qS4FKE
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 20, 2019
“We have done well, because we had almost 50% getting into the auction and by far we have gotten what we wanted. This is a good platform for Glenn Maxwell with the T20 World Cup around the corner to come here and we know the quality he brings, not just as a batsman but as a fielder and a bowling option and he can bat anywhere in the middle order too. So that’s the advantage and we needed a power hitter and we felt Maxwell was the right person to fill that gap,” he told the host broadcasters after the auction.
Maxwell triggered a bidding war between KXIP and Delhi Capital but eventually Punjab were able to get hold of him.
“Got a lot of great memories Kings XI and can’t wait to create some more amazing ones next year. Looking forward to getting back over its been a few years since I’ve been there. A lot of familiar faces there, great franchise. Can’t wait to get back to Mohali and hopefully entertain the crowd,” Maxwell posted a video message on Twitter.
First published: 20 December 2019, 18:56 IST