The all-rounder from Australia – Glenn Maxwell has enjoyed a rollercoaster ride in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite not performing up to the potential, Maxwell has earned big bucks everytime he has gone into the auctions. Ahead of another cracker of a season, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has shed some light on it.
After a poor outing in IPL 2020 in the UAE, Punjab Kings (previously known as Kings XI Punjab) released the all-rounder ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. Many expected Glenn Maxwell to go unsold for being inconsistent with both bat and the ball. However, much to everyone’s surprise, the Aussie cricketer fetched ₹14.25 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore after an intense bidding war.
Sharing an important observation, Gautam Gambhir while speaking to ESPNCricinfo said that just the fact that Maxwell keeps getting picked doesn’t mean he has done well. In fact, had he done well in the IPL, he would’ve sustained at one franchise.
“Had Maxwell done really well in the IPL, he wouldn’t have played for so many franchises, to be honest,” Gambhir said. “He’s played for so many franchises because he’s not been consistent at all. We can’t keep talking about ‘he hasn’t had the freedom’ for the previous franchises he’s played for… when he played for Delhi, he had a lot of freedom. Most of these franchises and coaches – because they think he’s an X-factor – they want to try and provide him with the best platform where he can succeed.
The most unfortunate thing is that despite getting that platform, he has not succeeded, apart from that one season in 2014 where he set the IPL on fire. Had he done that, I think none of the franchises would have released him. Look at what Andre Russell has done for KKR and the amount of time he’s spent at one franchise,” he added.
Glenn Maxwell has done well for Australia – Gautam Gambhir
Meanwhile, addressing the question “why Glenn Maxwell keeps getting big pay packages every time”, Gautam Gambhir said that this happens because he has done really well for Australia. However, the cricketer-turned-politician is hopeful that Maxwell will shine in the RCB jersey alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
“The only reason why a franchise releases you is because you haven’t performed. The more franchises you play for, it just shows you haven’t really been able to get settled in any of the franchises. Hopefully, Glenn Maxwell delivers this time around because every year, he keeps getting more and more money just because he does really well for Australia. So hopefully from RCB’s point of view, he can do really well. He’s probably got freedom more than any other player in the IPL. I feel he has been very disappointing throughout the IPL, but hopefully, this time around he can turn it,” Gambhir concluded.
