Royal Challengers Bangalore want Glenn Maxwell to be the finisher they sorely missed in the previous editions of the IPL. Team director Mike Hesson said at a virtual media conference on Wednesday that they would look to get the best out of “X-factor players” like Maxwell.
“Glenn Maxwell is a fantastic player, and he fits what we require in the middle order,” Hesson said. “We want some X-factor players, that high-impact player we’ve talked about. We’ve just found through the middle overs as an area (to work on)... so to have another player of that quality just adds to the likes of AB de Villiers and a two-pronged attack through the middle overs and the back-end.”
Punjab Kings released Maxwell after a poor IPL last season in which he managed just 108 runs and three wickets in 13 matches. However, that did not stop RCB from picking him at the auction for Rs 14.25 crore.
“We know on his day, he can turn a game on its head... We need to use him in a space where we can maximise his skills. Really looking forward to working with him and preparing over the next few days to be clear around his role.
“He is clear, but just want him to spend a few days amongst his peers, the people he’s going to be batting with to understand that role implicitly. It’s really important we do that. Also, from a bowling point of view, we know he adds some good skills in that area. He’s an amazing fielder.”
Hesson said that the team had identified areas that needed to be improved after RCB ended their campaign in the playoffs in the UAE.
“Sure, we were pleased to make the playoffs, that was great, but we also identified some areas where we needed to improve,” he said. “They were definite trends in terms of phases of the games that we wanted to tweak.”
