Glenn Maxwell scored just 108 runs in IPL 2020 for Punjab Kings.
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell talked about his horrendous campaign with the Punjab Kings franchise in the IPL 2020 which was played in UAE. He said that at that stage he felt that he hadn’t batted for 6 months.
Glenn Maxwell was bought in the auction by Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 for a whopping price of INR 10.5 crores. He, however, failed to put the stage on fire with his bat consistently. The right-hander, in the 11 innings he played, failed to hit a single six and scored just 108 runs in that season.
Even after having a disastrous IPL campaign, Maxwell was one of the most expensive picks in the IPL 2021 auction as he was sold to Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) for a staggering price of INR 14.25 crores. The all-rounder repaid the faith of the franchise as he was the highest run-scorer for the team in last season with 513 runs to his name.
Maxwell was also retained by the franchise for a whopping amount of INR 11 crores along with Virat Kohli (INR 15 crores) and Mohammed Siraj (7 crores) ahead of IPL 2022.
Speaking on the RCB Podcast, Glenn Maxwell said that IPL 2020 was a nightmare for him. He remarked that with KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Nicholas Pooran making runs he didn’t get momentum and it was hard for him to rediscover at any stage in the tournament.
“Last year (2020) was a nightmare. It can be hard work, T20 if you're a middle-order player. You're not getting a lot of balls in the middle, you are not getting consistency. KL and Mayank were making truckloads of runs. Nicky Pooran was smacking as well.
“So a lot of times, I ended up facing less than an over or two. It's not a lot to get momentum and it was really hard to rediscover at any stage in the tournament,” Glenn Maxwell said.
Maxwell said that going into every game he felt like he hadn’t batted for six months. He added that with him batting down the order it was tough for him to get going with only a few balls to play.
He highlighted that he’s not like Andre Russell, who can smash the ball from the very first delivery as he needs time.
“I was going to every game and it felt like I hadn't batted for six months. Even though I was training every day. It was probably down to so many top orders playing and then we brought Gayle in, and I was pushed another spot down the order.
“So I had even fewer balls to play. It was tougher. And I was like, 'You might as well not play me', because I'm not like Andre Russell who can come out and hit the first ball for six. I need time,” he said.
Glenn Maxwell further revealed that Punjab Kings stuck with him as he was bowling well and was helping the captain.
“To their credit, they stuck with me because I was bowling well. I was fielding and doing a lot of work with the captain. Batting-wise, if you don't get the rhythm, it's really hard to discover,” he said.
(RCB Podcast inputs)