Former English skipper, Kevin Pietersen reckons that said Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) needs to take a final on the future of Glenn Maxwell with the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as he has been consistently failing to perform in the tournament so far. Pietersen’s comments came after KXIP’s 69-run loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Dubai on Thursday.
Glenn Maxwell’s services were bought by the franchise during the IPL 2020 auction for ₹10.5 crores but the all-rounder has struggled to live up to the price tag. In 6 matches, he has only managed to score 48 runs at an average of 12 and a strike rate of less than 100. With the ball, Glenn Maxwell has taken just 1 wicket, conceding at over 9 per over.
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On Thursday, after a rare failure from both KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, the fans were expecting Maxwell to fire while KXIP were chasing 202 against SRH. Talking about the same during the post-match show on Star Sports, Kevin Pietersen said, “This year will be very very difficult for him (Rahul). He has not got the support of his big players and that one particular big player is Maxwell. Maxwell needs to either be sidelined or he gets one more chance.”
KL Rahul has the Orange Cap with the tally of 313 runs in 6 matches but his team has managed just 1 win and are reeling at the bottom of the IPL 2020 points table.
Explaining it further, Pietersen said, “There is so much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal going into the chase. There are some good players in and around. You can’t have him captain and give him wicketkeeping responsibilities and then have him thinking that he has to score all the runs because the other overseas players are not getting the runs.”
Nonetheless, Kevin Pietersen said It’s difficult getting Chris Gayle into the side even if KXIP is thinking about replacing Glenn Maxwell with the self-proclaimed ‘Universe Boss’. Notably, head coach Anil Kumble said Gayle was all set to play against SRH in Dubai on Thursday but a stomach problem ruled him out of the tie in the 11th hour.
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Talking about the replacement, Pietersen said, “I am going to (have a) go at Maxwell here because he hasn’t delivered. He is a big, big player for that franchise. If he is not part of the process, then you have to bring somebody else in. And Gayle, Anil Kumble said he would have played but he had a bit of an upset tummy. I don’t think he can bat at No. 3 or No. 4 because of his running between the wickets.”
Having already entered the must-win territory, KXIP will now be locking horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next match on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
