KL Rahul, who is the Kings XI Punjab captain mentioned that the franchise lacked an impact player of Glenn Maxwell’s calibre in the middle order during the last two editions of Indian Premier League (IPL). The players’ auction for IPL 2020 saw Kings XI Punjab buying Glenn Maxwell for INR 10.75 crore which was the second most expensive buy after Pat Cummins.
KXIP will also consist of players like Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Shami, Sheldon Cottrell, Karun Nair, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Ishan Porel, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda to name a few.
KL Rahul will be the skipper for the first time for KXIP after former captain Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. KL Rahul is one of India’s most reliable wicket-keeper batsman and has represented India in 32 ODIs,42 T20Is and 36 Tests. He has been in and out of the test team averaging less than 35, but in white-ball, he averages more than 45.
KL Rahul Hopes Glenn Maxwell Repeats His Performances Of IPL 2014 In UAE
Glenn Maxwell who has represented Australia in 7 tests,110 ODIs and 61 T20Is earlier played 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions of IPL for the Kings XI Punjab. Maxwell had a disappointing IPL in 2017 after which he was released by Punjab and bought by Delhi Capitals in 2018 and did not play in IPL 2019.
“Maxwell has been with Kings XI Punjab before, he has enjoyed good success here, going into the auction we were very clear that we wanted Maxwell in our lineup, we all know what he brings to the table,” Rahul said in a video posted on the official website of IPL.
The right-handed all-rounder batsman has featured in 52 matches for the franchise and has scored 1,186 runs with his career-best score of 95 which came in the 2014 edition of IPL. He scored 7 fifties in the tournament including three scores in the nineties.
“On a given day he can take down any bowling attack and opposition, last couple of seasons we felt we lacked an impact player like that,” he added.
He has so far scored 1397 runs in 69 matches averaging only 22.9 and has also taken 16 wickets. He has not achieved much success in IPL unlike in limited-overs cricket for Australia where he averages 32.33 in ODIs and 35.02 in T20Is. His knocks have an impact in the match, but he has failed to convert starts into big scores. The first half of IPL 2014 was played in the UAE, and Glenn Maxwell enjoyed spectacular success there so the Punjab outfit would be hoping for an encore as entire IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE.
IPL Franchises Reaches UAE To Participate
All eight IPL franchises KKR, RCB, CSK, MI, RR, SRH, KXIP and DC have already reached UAE for taking part in the upcoming tournament. As per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which are in place, the BCCI has already informed the franchises that the players have to undertake a compulsory seven-day quarantine period after arriving in the UAE. The IPL 2020 will commence from September 19 and conclude on November 10 and will be played across three venues –Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in the Emirates.
The players have to undergo RT-PCR tests on the first, third and sixth day of the quarantine phase as per SOPs and if tested negative on all three times, they will be entering the bio-bubble. The final of the 2020 edition is scheduled to be played on a weekday for the first time in IPL‘s history.
This time, in the 10 doubleheaders both the afternoon and evening matches will be played half-an-hour earlier than usual. The afternoon matches will start from 3.30 pm and evening matches will start from 7.30 pm.