Mike Hesson, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations spoke about the addition of Glenn Maxwell and Harshal Patel to the squad and what has changed for RCB in IPL 2021.
Not many bids were expected when Glenn Maxwell’s name was announced at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 auction as the Australian all-rounder had a miserable season with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2020.
Mike Hesson: Glenn Maxwell Can Attack In Middle Overs And Adds Another Bowling Option To RCB
One of the most destructive players in white-ball cricket, Glenn Maxwell failed to hit a single six for the KL Rahul-led side while batting in the middle-order. However, RCB, who has the reputation of being a batting powerhouse acquired the services of Glenn Maxwell for a whopping sum of Rs 14.25 crore.
MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was equally interested in adding Glenn Maxwell to their roster, but the Yellow Army pulled out after their last bid of Rs 14 crore. In IPL 2021, Glenn Maxwell showed his critics why is he one of the most dangerous players in white-ball cricket as he produced back-to-back impressive knocks to help Virat Kohli’s men kick off their IPL campaign with four successive wins.
Speaking to timesnownews.com, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson shared his views on what made RCB come up with a huge bid for Glenn Maxwell.
“We look at a style of play in terms of how we want to play as a team and how potential players fulfill those roles so the ability of Glenn Maxwell to attack in middle overs is something that we needed to add to our playing group and also the fact that we get another bowling option with him being able to bowl an odd over or two here and there. So we looked at that and it was a really nice fit,” Mike Hesson said.
Glenn Maxwell had a memorable season for Kings XI Punjab in 2014 – where he single-handedly guided the franchise to its maiden IPL final. He scored 554 runs that season at 34.50 but managed to cross the 300-run mark just once in the next six seasons. This season, however, he has been a delight to watch once again and already has 198 runs under his belt from five matches at an average of 49.50.
Mike Hesson: RCB Decided To Help Maximize Glenn Maxwell’s Talent And Harshal Patel Adds Something Different To Bowling Attack
With the exception of IPL 2014 and IPL 2017 where he averaged around 30-35, he failed to live up to expectations in the other 6 IPL editions averaging below 20. He failed at UAE in 2020 where he managed to score only 108 runs averaging a pathetic 15.42 at a strike rate of below 102.
When asked why RCB went after Maxwell, Mike Hesson added, “All of us Simon Katich, Virat, and myself had all seen him at his best at different times and so we knew that when he is at his best, he could make a huge impact for us. So we were looking to see what we could do to help maximize Glenn Maxwell’s talent.”
Another player who has been mighty impressive for RCB this season has been pacer Harshal Patel. The speedster, who was traded from Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of IPL 2021, has taken everybody by surprise by emerging as the Purple Cap holder after five games for RCB.
Lauding Harshal’s unique skillset compared to other bowlers, Mike Hesson said, “The fact that Harshal could bring something different to our bowling mix. We have got Saini and Siraj who are both excellent new-ball bowlers. Saini is very good through the middle. But Harshal has got a different skill set while bowling through the middle, the change of pace, the real consistency with yorkers, so those are things we saw in him.”
Just like Harshal Patel, the entire RCB squad has taken everybody by a surprise by winning four matches in a row in the 14th edition. Their winning streak came to an end against CSK but they have still won four out of five matches.
In terms of batting as well as bowling, RCB looks a much better side this season. While adding that it was still early in the tournament, Mike Hesson shared his views on what according to him has changed for Bangalore this season compared to previous years.
“It’s still very early in the competition and we are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. I think we have got a better balance in terms of the three phases of the game. As a squad, we have got more fixability but as I said these are still early days,” Mike Hesson signed off.
Harshal Patel has picked 15 scalps, 4 more than second-highest wicket-taker Avesh Khan. Glenn Maxwell is the 6th highest run-scorer after the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Jonny Bairstow, and Rohit Sharma.