All is Not Well for Glenn Maxwell
For Dean Jones he was the player of the tournament last IPL, he made R Ashwin look like a club bowler and he went a notch higher than AB de Villiers in the spectrum of crazy shots, but this season all is clearly not well for Glenn Maxwell.
Three matches, 28 runs, 14 deliveries. No World Cup winner would be happy with those figures in a tournament which is technically a domestic T20 competition. Glenn Maxwell is certainly no different. On top of that he is Aussie. Being extra proud just comes with that. The fact that he has faced a maximum of 5 deliveries per match this season should be both a worry to upcoming opposition teams and the Kings XI management. Maxwell knows he won't be dropped just yet for a waiting Shaun Marsh but he also knows that in the IPL the insurance of winning the World Cup counts for little. You're only as good as your last few matches.
After Aaron Finch was ruled out of the IPL due to an injury, Maxwell tweeted ''Feeling for my mate @AaronFinch5 right now! Just as he was starting to look comfortable at the crease again. Have a speedy recovery mate!''
After 2 listless performances by Finch, Maxwell knew Mumbai would not have given his mate another chance till Lendl Simmons would have failed. But Maxwell has the insurance of a little more than winning the World Cup. His insurance is doubled by the fact that he was the man who powered Kings XI Punjab to the final of the IPL last season. Kolkata may have won the IPL but that season will always be remembered for Maxwell's antics.
So while Maxwell is all set to get 3 or even 4 more chances before Punjab's management will have to make that tough decision of dropping him, what can be done to bring Maxwell back to form?
Does one change his approach? Can one change his approach? Has anyone been able to change the way Virender Sehwag bats, so how can we change Maxwell's style?
These are tough questions that will confront both Maxwell and the team management.
But every indication is that the man called the Big Show will be back amongst the runs sooner rather than later. Just go back to the World Cup. In Sydney he scored his maiden ODI 100, the 2nd fastest in World Cup history and in the quarter final vs Pakistan he blasted 44 off 29 making the world forget Wahab Riaz's spectacular spell.
This is the IPL. The quality of the bowlers is certainly not as great as the quality of the bowlers in the World Cup. But the expectations are greater, the bowlers know what to expect and every day is not a Sunday.
In fact even the next match for Punjab is on a Saturday not a Sunday and to make matters worse for Maxwell it is against the defending Champions Kolkata Knight Riders - the one team that had a clear upper hand against Maxwell last season. In 4 matches against KKR, the Big Show was a flop show with scores of 15, 14, 6 and 0. Now would you put money on Maxwell to return to form vs KKR?