Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is excited about playing alongside and learning from Virat Kohli in the upcoming IPL, calling the Indian captain “the pinnacle of the game” for his dominance across formats.

The Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Maxwell, who was released by Punjab Kings, for Rs 14.25 crore at the auction last month.

“It’s (RCB stint) going to be next level,” Maxwell told Australian Associated Press. “He’s (Kohli) been the pinnacle of the game for a while as a multi-format player from Tests all the way to T20s. “He's been able to adapt his game, dominate for a long period of time and deal with the Indian pressure of being their captain and their best player,” Maxwell said.

The IPL is scheduled to start in April and the swashbuckling all-rounder hopes to pick up some leadership qualities from Kohli, also the RCB skipper.

“I’m looking forward to watching him go about his work, not just in games but in training, and hopefully tapping into some of the leadership stuff and try and learn off him.”

The 32-year-old said he has developed a “good friendship” with Kohli over the years, adding that the Indian maestro backed him when he took a mental health break in 2019. “In a way he probably understood a lot of the things that I was going through... a lot of expectation and pressure, which I’m sure he can relate to.”

Kohli, who recently opened up about his own battle with depression during a harrowing tour of England in 2014, had lauded Maxwell’s decision to take a break.

RCB have a strong Australian connection this season, with fellow Australian T20 squad teammates Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa and Josh Philippe joining Maxwell.

There have been a lot of questions regarding RCB’s decision to buy Maxwell after his forgettable IPL season in 2020 in the UAE, where he scored just 108 runs in 13 innings at an average of 15.

But Maxwell once again found plenty of takers with RCB emerging winners for a price that no one expected. But all of this, was apparently, well-planned.

In an inside-footage released by the franchise on their official Twitter account, RCB revealed how the management planned to buy Maxwell, showing every moment of their mock auction, and team discussions for the Australian big-hitter.

At the start of the video, RCB coach Mike Hesson said that he expects CSK will be the only threat for Maxwell in terms of price. And this is precisely what happened at the auction as RCB had to battle the three-time champions to rope in the batsman.