From hitting a nadir mentally to hitting the jackpot on comeback, Glenn Maxwell has had quite a ride in a matter of months.
Two months ago, Maxwell felt “ruined” and perhaps wanted to be somewhere which wouldn’t be remotely close to the 22 yards.
But cricket, as they say, is a great leveller in every sense of the term. The game that seemed to have pushed him towards depression has now fetched him a cool Rs 10.75 crore and probably given him a chance to pick up the pieces and start afresh.
“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 it’s 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 his official Twitter account.
KXIP head coach Anil Kumble believes IPL will be a “good platform” for Maxwell to prove his mettle.“With the (T20) World Cup in October, it’s a good platform for Maxwell to come here. We know what he brings as a batsman, as a bowler and as a fielder. You have a price to go for, but you also want a player and fortunately for us it stopped at what we wanted — Rs 10.75 crore,” Kumble said.
“He was very much on our radar. We needed one of those X-factors. He’s been with us in the past so he knows the exact layout of the team,” added KXIP CEO Sathish Menon after their franchise won the intense bidding war.
Kumble also explained the reason behind the fierce bidding for overseas pacers and power-hitters.
“It’s pretty obvious that bowlers are critical in a T20 competition. And for us, at least the gaps that we had to fill were pretty evident.
“We had to fill the fast bowlers slots and also the powerhitters because for us, in the middle order we needed someone who could really be a destructive player and that’s why we chose Glenn (Maxwell).
“Of course all-rounders are a blessing, if you can get one. And we were lucky to get (Jimmy) Neesham, (Sheldon) Cottrell and (Chris) Jordan. Obviously, the choice or the money that we had to spend was more on the four foreign players.”
KXIP are fully aware Maxwell brings the “X-factor” that the franchises look for in a tournament like the IPL.
Rahul to lead
Kumble confirmed that KL Rahul will lead the franchise in the upcoming IPL.
“For Rahul, it’s the right moment at this juncture in his career as he has already cemented his place in the white ball format,” the KXIP head coach said.
“This leadership role will give him a different perspective into looking at other players, and not worrying about his game. That will help him grow as a person and I think it was the right time for the franchise to look at KL and build on his success,” Kumble said.
