Punjab Kings might be winning games in the ongoing IPL 2025, but there are still questions surrounding the form of one of their star players in Glenn Maxwell, who has been having yet another disappointing campaign. Maxwell, in the six matches he has played so far, has only scored 41 runs at an average of 8.20 and has a strike rate of only 100.
Meanwhile, India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has come forward and opined his take on Maxwell’s poor run of form in the cash-rich tournament. Pujara not only mentioned that there is no change of approach in his game, but also warned him to wake up before the team decides to drop him from the Playing XI.
“The way he bats hasn’t changed much, He hasn’t changed the way he has approached the IPL. There have been times where he’s been a little casual. He’s the same what he was maybe eight-ten years ago. I’m a little critical, but there are times where as a player you need to wake up,” Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show.
“You need to realise you’re getting an opportunity to play and be part of a franchise where things are at stake. And there are times a player can get casual, they’re not worried about what’s happening. I’m sure he wants to perform but when you’re not performing there’s a fine line of being casual and just trying to pull up your socks and trying to perform. He has to find that balance, If there was any other player, he would’ve been out of the XI, but because he’s Maxwell, he’s getting that opportunity,” Pujara, who has previously represented PBKS, added.
Hard to decipher how Maxwell operates: Sanjay Bangar
Pujara was not alone in giving his insights on the Australia all-rounder, as former PBKS coach Sanjay Bangar also shared his insights on how the cricketer operates in the IPL. Bangar has mentioned that Maxwell’s performances rely on the batters around him, explaining the role of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, who were with him in the RCB squad in the last few years.
“It’s a hard one, to decipher how Maxwell operates, his run of consistency or otherwise. Those three years at RCB, he had a couple of batters around him who took the attention away from him. There was Virat [Kohli], Faf du Plessis – he wasn’t really the main guy the team looked up to for miracles,” Bangar said.
“He was expected to do those impactful performances, and he was delivering quite well. Here in a new role [at PBKS], he’s batting slightly lower down the order as well, for me, they’re still looking at him as a primary overseas batter, which wasn’t the case with RCB,” the former India batter added.
