Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen on Thursday (October 8) slammed Glenn Maxwell for his yet another failure in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE.
According to Pietersen, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) need to take a call on Maxwell's selection in the playing XI, considering his current form.
See Also: "Think strike-rate is very, very overrated", says KL Rahul amidst criticism
Pietersen's comments came in the wake of KXIP’s 69-run thrashing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dubai.
Maxwell, who was roped in by KXIP at the IPL 2020 auction for a whopping sum of Rs 10.5 crore, hasn’t been able to justify his price tag so far.
In 6 matches this season, the Australia batsman has managed just 48 runs with a strike rate of less than 100.
On Thursday, Maxwell scored only 7 during KXIP’s daunting chase of 202 against SRH.
"This year will be very very difficult for him (Rahul). He has not got the support of his big players and that one particular big player is Maxwell. Maxwell needs to either be sidelined or he gets one more chance," Pietersen told Star Sports in a post-match show.
Even though KXIP skipper KL Rahul holds the Orange Cap with 313 runs from 6 outings, his team is at the bottom of the points table with just one victory.
"There is so much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal going into the chase. It's unfair pressure. It's okay Nicholas Pooran played nicely. There are some good players in and around.
"You can't have him captain and give him wicketkeeping responsibilities and then have him thinking that he has to score all the runs because the other overseas players are not getting the runs. There is a hell of a lot of pressure," Pietersen remarked.
Despite Maxwell’s failures, Kevin Pietersen reckons it is difficult to draft Chris Gayle in the playing XI as he is not a middle-order batting option.
It is worth mentioning here that Gayle was all set to play against SRH but a stomach problem ruled him out of the fixture at the last moment.
"It's about just knuckling down and trying to speak to the players individually and trying to get the best out of the players. But also, set your mark out and say 'this is the team that I am going to play for the next 3-4 games'.
"I am going to (have a) go at Maxwell here because he hasn't delivered. He is a big, big player for that franchise. If he is not part of the process, then you have to bring somebody else in.
"And Gayle, Anil Kumble said he would have played but he had a bit of an upset tummy. So he is going to have to produce some magic but where is he going to bat? I don't think he can bat at No. 3 or No. 4 because of his running between the wickets," Pietersen said.
Kings XI Punjab will take on Rajasthan Royals in their next match on Sunday (October 11).
