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“He’s been the pinnacle of the game”: Glenn Maxwell admires Virat Kohli ahead of IPL 2021 stint at RCB

Dixit Bhargav
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"He's been the pinnacle of the game": Glenn Maxwell admires Virat Kohli ahead of IPL 2021 stint at RCB

Glenn Maxwell admires Virat Kohli: The Australian all-rounder is looking forward to rub shoulders with the Indian captain.

Currently in New Zealand with the Australian T20I squad, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is yet to make his presence felt after returning with scores of 1 and 3 in two T20Is respectively so far.

In addition to his form, what has further made Maxwell’s life slightly difficult across the Tasman sea is constant sledging from the Kiwi fans. Maxwell, 32, has been interacting with the fans of the home team from the boundary lines only to hear rants about him being overrated.

“I was copping an absolute ribbing, nothing too clever. All so predictable. I thought ‘I’ve got to put a pin in this’. So, I went over and I was like, ‘Alright, calm it down. One at a time so I can understand.’ I gave them all individually a chance to have a crack at me. And I was like, ‘You? Yep, OK pretty good. OK, you, your turn. Yep not too bad’,” Maxwell was quoted as saying by AAP.

“I gave them all a chance to spray me instead on them just yelling random abuse. Then they started abusing me for being overrated and they started a chant. I got them to quieten down and then I told them ‘I’m overpaid’ and they erupted laughing. I was just trying to get them on side, trying to calm them down. It was getting to the point of rank abuse and I was trying to add a fun element.”

Glenn Maxwell admires Virat Kohli ahead of IPL 2021 stint at RCB

Maxwell, who was recently bought by Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping INR 14.25 crore after indulging in bidding wars with Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, will be representing his fifth team in the cash-rich league.

Maxwell, who had termed India and RCB captain Virat Kohli as the best player in the past as well, maintained his stance with respect to his next IPL captain. Having earlier eulogized about playing alongside his “idol” and former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, Maxwell said that he is looking forward to watch Kohli from close quarters at Royal Challengers.

“It’s going to be next level. He’s [Virat Kohli] been the pinnacle of the game for a while as a multi-format player from Tests all the way to T20s. He’s been able to adapt his game, dominate for a long period of time and deal with the Indian pressure of being their captain and their best player.

“I’m looking forward to watching him go about his work, not just in games but in training, and hopefully tapping into some of the leadership stuff and try and learn off him,” Maxwell said.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Dixit Bhargav

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Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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