Lacked player like Maxwell in middle order during last two IPL seasons: KL Rahul
Aug 25, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 25 : Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul on Tuesday said that the franchise lacked an impact player like Glenn Maxwell in the middle order during the last two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons.
During the players' auction for the upcoming IPL, Kings XI Punjab bought Maxwell for INR 10.75 crore.
The IPL 2020 will be played from September 19-November 10 in the UAE across three venues --Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
"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.
"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.
Maxwell earlier played 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions of IPL for the Punjab franchise.
The right-handed batsman has played 52 matches for the franchise, managing to score 1,186 runs with his highest score being 95 coming in the 2014 edition.
The 2014 edition's first half was played in the UAE, and Maxwell enjoyed great success there so Punjab would now be hoping for the same as entire IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE.
All eight IPL franchises have reached UAE for taking part in the upcoming tournament.
As per the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs), the BCCI has already told the franchises that the players have to undergo a mandatory seven-day quarantine period after arriving in the UAE.
As per SOPs issued by the BCCI, the players have to undergo RT-PCR tests on Day 1, 3, and 6 of the quarantine phase and then they will be entering the bio-bubble provided they test negative on all three occasions.
The final match of the 2020 edition is scheduled to be played on a weekday, i.e. Tuesday, for the first time in the history of the T20 tournament.
This time, both the afternoon and evening matches will be played half-an-hour earlier than usual.
