New Delhi: Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell on Friday opened up on his fallout with Virender Sehwag during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017. An ugly episode that happened between the two cricketers during their time with Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) franchise set them apart forever.
Notably, Sehwag and Maxwell didn’t get along during 2017 edition of the cash-rich league as their team finished on the points table on fifth position, bagging seven wins from 14 games. In his new book, the Australian cricketer has recalled the period and revealed how the Indian cricketer was using his monopoly in team selection and their decisions as the director of operations.
Maxwell blames Sehwag for Punjab downfall
The former Punjab skipper revealed how Sehwag’s ‘senseless’ decisions brought the downfall of the franchise. “When it came to selection, I thought it might be a good idea to bring the coaches into a WhatsApp group to make our decisions. Everyone agreed to this and shared their teams, with the exception of Sehwag. At the end of the process, he made it clear that he would pick the starting XI, end of story. We were losing on and off the field by now, with Sehwag on more than one occasion making decisions that didn’t necessarily make sense,” Maxwell wrote in his book, the excerpt of which was published on ESPNCricinfo.
Additionally, he has also mentioned in the book that how he wished to attend the press conference after their side’s last match of the season against the Rising Pune Super Giants, which they lost by 9 wickets. But Sehwag went ahead of him, launching a brutal attack on the Australian player. Maxwell has also revealed in his book that he was also removed from the team’s WhatsApp group.
Maxwell also revealed how he told Sehwag that he had lost him as a fan and the Indian cricketer replied bluntly that he didn’t need a fan like him. Meanwhile, after leaving PBKS in 2017, the Australian played for Delhi Capitals in 2018 before joining Punjab again in the year 2020. He currently plays for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from 2021 onwards.
