IPL 2021: ‘That'll be awesome’, Maxwell expresses interest to join forces with 'idol' AB de Villiers at RCB

Maxwell has listed his base price at INR 2 crore for the IPL 2021 auction.

By Salman Anjum - 16 Feb, 2021

Australia’s swashbuckling batsman Glenn Maxwell had a tough time during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in UAE.

Playing for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Maxwell had aggregated only 108 runs with a strike-rate of 101.88 in 13 innings. Therefore, it was not surprising that KXIP didn’t retain him last month.

See Also: "Not done and dusted yet" - Glenn Maxwell eyes Australia Test return next year

Maxwell has now listed his base price at INR 2 crore for the IPL 2021 auction, scheduled for February 18 in Chennai.

While various franchises will be keen to secure his services, the Australian cricketer is hoping to join forces with Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he can play with his 'idol' AB de Villiers.

"That'll be awesome. AB [is] one of my idols and one of the guys I've always tried to watch the way he goes about [things]," Maxwell was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "It'll be awesome to work with him, and he's always been really helpful to me along the journey. Whenever I've caught up with him, he's been brilliant. So to be able to work with him first hand will be pretty cool."

Skipper Virat Kohli is another superstar that the RCB have in their ranks and Maxwell is more than open to the idea of playing under the former’s leadership.

"I get along with Virat pretty well. It'll be certainly nice to work under Virat and will certainly enjoy batting with him - that's for sure," he added.

Before representing KXIP, Maxwell plied his trades for Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. While the Australian could not get a long run or more opportunities for either franchise, he has no regrets or complaints.

"I suppose to have the luck to go back there [for] most years has been awesome for my cricket. It's been great to have the experience of playing around the best players in the world and learn from different teams as well," Maxwell said.

"We've had different coaches - Punter [Ricky Ponting at Capitals], Sanjay Bangar, [Virender] Sehwag [both at Kings XI] - and it's been awesome. People ask me if my cricket would be different if I didn't go for that [IPL], but I have no idea. But I don't think it would because I don't feel I've changed too much as a person."

By Salman Anjum - 16 Feb, 2021

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