Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell is more serious about his golf than cricket, said former India opener Virender Sehwag following the Australian all-rounder's recent turnaround with the bat. Maxwell, after delivering a dismal performance for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the recent IPL edition, looked like a completely different player in the white-ball series against India.
Contrary to his lacklustre batting shows for Punjab this year, Maxwell slammed multiple quick-fire knocks while donning the Australia jersey. He gathered two whirlwind half-centuries in the ODI series and finished as third-highest run-getter for Australia behind Aaron Finch and Steve Smith.
Extending his impressive run with the bat, he also looked in sublime touch in the T20I series where he ended up scoring 78 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of 150. Sehwag, pointing out Maxwell's dramatic change, said that the all-rounder is never serious when it comes to playing in the IPL.
"He (Maxwell) doesn't take pressure at all (In IPL). He is there only for enjoyment. He will do everything in the match - encourage players, roam around, dance - other than scoring runs. As soon as the match is over, if he is getting free drinks he will take that to his room or go to the room and have a lot of drinks," Sehwag said during a discussion on Sony Sports network.
"So, I never felt that he is that serious about the game. When he comes to the IPL, he is more serious about his golf than cricket. Because if you are that serious, the performance shows," he added.
Sehwag, who previously has also served as the mentor of the Punjab franchise, also said that Maxwell's attitude changes when he's playing for Australia. 32-year-old Maxwell had managed to score just 103 runs from 13 games in the UAE, ending his abysmal IPL 2020 campaign without hitting a single six.
"His attitude changes when he plays for Australia. When he goes to Australia, he knows that if he has two or three bad innings, he will be left out of the Australian team and it will be difficult to make a comeback.
"But in the IPL, there is no fear. Even if you are not there in the playing XI, you will still get the 1.5 million dollars that you are getting. It is possible that 20 or 30% is cut when you are not part of the playing XI, so if not 1.5 million, he will get one million. So that is free money going into the pocket," opined Sehwag.
