Off The Field

Kohli pinnacle of the game, looking forward to learning from him: Maxwell

Written by Abhishek Patil

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is super excited about his Indian Premier League contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Maxwell said he is looking forward to learning from Virat Kohli whom he regards as the ‘pinnacle of the game’ as a multi-format player.

Glenn Maxwell said Virat Kohli has been able to deal with the pressure of ‘being the captain of the best player; in the star-studded Indian side. Maxwell, who is currently with the Australia team in New Zealand, will be turning up for RCB in IPL 2021.

Glenn Maxwell set off a bidding war at the IPL 2021 Auction as the Australian all-rounder was bought for Rs 14.25 crore by RCB. Maxwell was a hot property at the auction despite having been released by Punjab Kings after an ordinary IPL in 2020 wherein he managed just 106 runs from 13 matches.

Maxwell had said before the auction that he would love to share the dressing room with his ‘idol’ AB de Villers and Virat Kohli at RCB and it was not surprising to see the former finalist going after the Big Show at the auction. Maxwell’s arrival not just adds balance to RCB but also helps taking the spotlight off Kohli and de Villiers who have been the pillars of the side over the years.

“It [RCB stint] is going to be next level. He’s been the pinnacle of the game for a while as a multi-format player from Tests all the way to T20s,” Maxwell told AAP.

“He’s been able to adapt his game, dominate for a long period of time and deal with the Indian pressure of being their captain and their best player. I am looking forward to watching him go about his work, not just in games but in training, and hopefully tapping into some of the leadership stuff and try and learn off him.”

Maxwell also said he has developed a fine friendship with Kohli over the years as he recalled the India captain backing his stand on the importance of mental health breaks in the sport. Notably, Kohli had lauded Maxwell’s decision to take a break from competitive action in 2019 to deal with mental health, saying it would set the right example for cricketers across the globe.

“He’s been a solid backer of my stance. In a way he probably understood a lot of the things that I was going through … a lot of expectation and pressure, which I’m sure he can relate to,” Maxwell said.

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Abhishek Patil