3 Teams that could target Glenn Maxwell in IPL 2021 Auction

Once again, Glenn Maxwell is back in the auction pool in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The world continues to get baffled on how the ‘Big Show’ is unable to produce the goods in the IPL. Year after year, Maxwell has turned up and turned out to be a disappointment.

He has played for three franchises – Mumbai Indians (2012, 2013), Kings XI Punjab (2014-2017 and 2020) and Delhi Capitals (2018). He played just five games across two seasons for MI but since 2014, he has been a regular starter in the XI.

Also Read: IPL 2021 | Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris and other big names released by teams ahead of IPL Auctions

There have been only two seasons where Maxwell has gone past 200 runs – in 2014 and 2017. In fact, barring that 2014 season where he had a dream run, Maxwell has barely produced any big performance of note. He has all of six half-centuries in his IPL career, four of which came in the 2014 season.

The last time Maxwell was in the auction, he was bought for INR 10.75 crore by Kings XI Punjab in 2020. However, he turned out to be a liability throughout the seasons and his bat never did the talking. Thus, it was no surprise that KXIP decided to release him ahead of the next season.

With the hard-hitting Victorian all-rounder back in the auction pool, let’s look at three teams who might well be in contention to buy Maxwell.

Delhi Capitals (DC)

Don’t be surprised if Delhi Capitals go after Glenn Maxwell once again. It is no secret that Ricky Ponting has quite a bit of time for Maxwell and he wanted him in the side last season as well. In the 2020 auctions, DC went all out for him but pulled out in the last time as he went out of budget. The Melbourne Stars skipper was a part of the Delhi side in 2018, it was the year that Ponting became the head coach at the Delhi Capitals.

Also Read: Glenn Maxwell aims to nail down all-rounder’s spot in ODI team

With Shimron Hetmyer blowing hot and cold for the most part of the last season and not having a lot of cricket behind him either, Maxwell could well add some firepower to the middle-order. He could form a lethal combination alongside his Melbourne Stars and Australia teammate Marcus Stoinis. Yes, Delhi doesn’t have a big purse left ahead of the auctions for the 2021 season but they already have 17 players in the squad. They could go all out for Maxwell unless like last time, he fetches big bids and his price goes over 9 or 10 crore. Moreover, DC have three overseas spots remaining.

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals made one of the biggest calls ahead of the auctions for the 2021 IPL as they decided to let go of their skipper Steve Smith. With the top-order packed, Steve Smith may have been batting out of place at No. 4 and Jos Buttler was being underused lower down the order. Their middle-order (4-7) was pretty inconsistent and was one of the reasons for their downfall last season.

Thus, bringing in Glenn Maxwell could well solve the issue. RR can open the batting either with Ben Stokes alongside Jos Buttler or Manan Vohra with Sanju Samson to follow at 3 or 4 depending on the opening combination they choose. Maxwell slotting in at 5 would provide a different dimension to the line-up. And if Buttler continues his role in the middle-order, as he did in the back half of the 2020 season, the Buttler-Maxwell pair could wreak havoc at the death.

Plus, RR have three overseas slots to fill and even if Maxwell is one of the hot picks in the auction, RR have a purse of INR 34.85 crore to go all out for the 32-year-old Victorian.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

This could be a surprising name in this list but back in 2018, Royal Challengers Bangalore had shown quite a bit of interest in buying Glenn Maxwell. They had gone up to INR 6.60 crore before pulling out of the race. The hard-hitting off-spinning all-rounder could make a good addition to the RCB line-up.

RCB have been over-dependant on their big two (Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers) for a long time now. Devdutt Padikkal performed really well last year but he opens the batting. Thus, at the moment, RCB have quite a few top-order players and AB de Villiers is the only real middle-order option. The addition of Maxwell could well free up the big two and it could also allow Kohli to move up and open the batting, a spot where he has been the most successful in the IPL.

RCB have three overseas spots left to be filled and with a purse of INR 35.7 crore, they could well go all out for Maxwell if the need arises.