Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell aka ‘the Big Show’, is a maverick, who’s just one of his kind. On some of the best balls bowled by any bowler, he has the ability to play some unbelievably audacious shots and also has the tendency to get out in some of the weirdest fashion. 

Dismantling bowling line ups, crushing bowlers’ confidence, and bamboozling them are the common traits of his batting but he has also been criticised heavily for being reckless and not caring enough of the situation and the state of play. 

Apart from his batting prowess, Maxi is renowned for being a handy bowler and a gun fielder, both inside and outside the 30-yard circle.

Maxwell has shown the skills of making a season big for himself and his team when he helped Australia post huge scores repetitively in the ICC World Cup 2015, which the Kangaroos went on to win.

The ‘Big Show’ made his international debut for the Aussies in an ODI match against Afghanistan in 2012. In the very same year he was handed his maiden T20I cap against Pakistan, on the back of a sensational domestic season with Victoria.

Maxwell was impressive in his first year at the international level and was rewarded with the baggy green cap for the second Test against India in 2013. He was predominantly used as a second spinner and had an average Test match to begin with. 

The big-hitter was in the Australian squad for the 2014 World T20, and he performed exceptionally well with both bat & the ball. In a group stage game against Pakistan, he slammed 74 of 33 deliveries, which included six huge hits over the fence. He finished the tournament as Australia’s second-highest run getter in the tournament, making 147 runs at a strike-rate of 210.

Post T20 World Cup, Maxwell was mainly used as a bits and piece player and was in and out of the team due to poor performances in both T20I and ODI format. 

However, the power-packed player was given another opportunity to shine in the 2015 ODI World Cup for the Aussies. Maxwell repaid the selectors faith by hammering 324 runs at an average of 64.80. 

Maxwell blasted a 51-ball century against Sri Lanka in Sydney. It was the fastest century by an Australian in ODI’s, and the second-fastest in World Cup history. 

In the same year, Maxwell was awarded with the Allan Border Medal for the T20I performer of the year.

Subsequently, in the T20I series against Sri Lanka in mid-2016, Maxwell scored an unbeaten 145 off 65 deliveries which is recorded as the second-highest score in T20I history. 

Earlier in 2017, Australia toured India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There, in the third Test match of the series, Maxwell scored his maiden Test ton (104 off 185 balls) and became only the second Australian after Shane Watson to score a century in all three formats of the game. 

In early 2018, following the suspension of Steven Smith and David Warner, Maxwell was urgently called upon in the Test squad against South Africa, but he did not get a chance to feature in the playing XI.

He was a part of the Australian squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup in England but only managed to score 175 runs in 10 innings. 

In the home series against India in 2020, Maxwell was at his best in the ODI format. He amassed 167 runs in three matches as Australia won the ODI series 2-1. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been an integral part of Maxwell’s success in his career as the all rounder shone through the season in 2014 hitting multiple match-winning scores and helping the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) achieve impossible targets. His knock of 95 from 43 balls against CSK, and a 45-ball 89 against RR resulted in a crushing defeat for the opposing teams. He ended up scoring 552 runs from 14 innings in IPL 2014.

But, Maxwell faltered in the IPL after that season and could manage to add to his total runs tally by only 145 runs and 179 runs. He was entrusted to lead the side in the 2017 season but he failed to seize the opportunity but as a batsman and the captain and was subsequently released by the team.

Maxwell made his comeback in the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), in 2020 after the franchise decided to buy him for INR 10.75 crore. He had an average season, amassing 108 runs in 13 matches and was also ineffective with the ball. 

Surprisingly, he could not even hit a single ball over the fence and looked woefully out of touch in the cash-rich league. Former Indian batsman, Virender Sehwag went on to tag him as a ‘10-crore-cheerleader'. 

Later, he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, and eyebrows were raised when RCB decided to rope him for a whopping price of INR 14.25 crore. 

A power hitter of the cricket ball, Maxwell has been a vital cog for Australia in the shorter formats of the game. He has revolutionized the modern day game but has the tendency to be erratic sometimes, but his ability to take the game away from the opposition has garnered praise from the cricketing fraternities. Maxi is not only a game changer with the bat, but also has set high standards on the field. 

(As of March 2021)