Australia's Glenn Maxwell garnered a lot of media attention during Indian Premier League 2020, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Playing for Kings XI Punjab, Maxwell struggled to get going, only scoring 108 runs in 13 games at an average of 15.42. There were no doubts that he would be one of the players KXIP would be relieving ahead of IPL 2021, and it was confirmed last month on the final day of IPL Player Retention.
Now, Maxwell will once again go under the hammer when the auctions take place next week. But will any teams be interested in him after an abysmal performance in 2020? Former India batsman and two-time IPL trophy-winning captain Gautam Gambhir said that RCB may go after Maxwell in the upcoming auctions.
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"There will be a couple of teams who will be eager to go into the auctions and buy the players they want. There is Kings XI Punjab, there is RCB, who will be looking to get some players to get their balance right. These sides will be very, very active in the auctions," Gambhir said on Star Sports during the Lunch break on Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and England.
"I feel Glenn Maxwell (will go big under the hammer). He has not set the IPL on fire apart from one season in 2014, he has been very, very cold. People say hot and cold, but he has been very cold.
{{/usCountry}}"I feel Glenn Maxwell (will go big under the hammer). He has not set the IPL on fire apart from one season in 2014, he has been very, very cold. People say hot and cold, but he has been very cold.
{{/usCountry}}"There are teams who will be looking at someone like Maxwell. Surely, RCB will be looking at him. That is my personal opinion. Anything can happen at the auctions. But I feel Maxwell will go to RCB," Gambhir added.
"Because if I look at their entire batting line-up they have got, Virat Kohli will definitely be looking to open the batting, because that is where he has been most successful. Padikkal has done very, very well for them in the previous season. Then they have got AB, and then they can have someone like Maxwell - the X factor," he explained.
"And at Chinnaswamy, where he has done very well. Whenever he has played at Chinnaswamy, he has won games for Australia. So, I think, Maxwell will go to RCB. Depending on how much RCB will give for him, but I feel he would go for a lot of money," Gambhir signed off.