Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith
After a shambolic IPL season, Glenn Maxwell had a remarkable turnaround in the ODI series against India where he smashed 167 runs at an average and strike-rate of 83.50 and 194.18 respectively.
Contrary to his IPL 2020 outings with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) where he failed to hit even a single six, Maxwell hammered boundaries for fun on the Australian soil. Along with smashing back-to-back half-centuries, Maxwell also hit 12 fours and 11 sixes -- the most by any player in the series.
Following a dismal IPL 2020, most franchises would've been unsure over putting their money on Maxwell in next year's action. However, with Maxwell finding his rhythm back with the ODI series against India, former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels that most teams will go for the all-rounder in the IPL 2021 auction. Maxwell had an abysmal stint in the UAE where he scored just 108 runs from 13 games for the Punjab-based outfit.
“I don’t think there is any white-ball team in the world that wouldn’t want Maxwell. I’m pretty sure next time in the IPL auction, most of the teams will look for Maxwell. Look what Australia have done, they have found the right place for him – at no. 7, and I don’t think they’ll move him too much unless obviously, they get off to the fliers,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
“I think they have found his role in the last 15 overs. They feel that’s when he is at his best when he can go out there and pretty much go from ball one. That’s when is he is having his most effects.”
Maxwell, along with being a potent hard-hitting batsman, also contributes with his fielding efforts, according to Vaughan. “I think his fielding is pretty much guaranteed that he is going to probably save 5 to 10 runs in the field. So, he is already in my eyes when he goes out to bat, on 10. I mention that most of the batsmen start on nought, Maxwell starts on 10 because he is that good in the field,” said Vaughan.
