Form of a few players would have been a concern for Australia going into the T20 World Cup 2024 with many of them not having the IPL season they would have liked. However, the way Mitchell Starc performed in the knockouts for the Kolkata Knight Riders and David Warner smashed a 21-ball 54 against Namibia in the warm-up match, it seems like the classic case of Australians turning it on when the crunch moment and the big events arrive repeating itself.
Senior opener Usman Khawaja suggested that it could be the same with Glenn Maxwell as well, who seemed like he couldn't buy a run in the IPL. Maxwell, after three terrific seasons with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, had a horror campaign where he scored just 52 runs in 10 innings. But Khawaja believed that IPL form will be irrelevant when it comes to the T20 World Cup.
“The IPL form is absolutely irrelevant. Maxy’s proven himself time and time again. Any player who’s performed over a long period of time understands that you can’t perform well every time you go out there," Khawaja was quoted by the West Australian.
Khawaja mentioned that T20 is a game of risk and reward and sometimes it will not come off and hence failures and low scores are bound to come. However, if it comes off, Maxwell is a player who can change the complexion of the game single-handedly.
"You take a few risks, particularly if you bat in the middle order, and T20 cricket’s not easy. But (for this tournament) if he gets one good innings, he’s away. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. He’s not going to change his game and nor should he. Just keep going. He’ll find it," the 37-year-old opener added. Before the IPL, Maxwell had a phenomenal run of 12 to 16 months for Australia, including a memorable World Cup 2023 and the hard-hitting all-rounder will be hoping for some of that rub of green to go his way in the T20 World Cup.
