‘Don’t need a fan like you’: Glenn Maxwell opens up on soured relationship with Virender Sehwag at Kings XI Punjab

Going into the 2017 season, Maxwell was appointed arsenic the skipper of the franchise, a connection that was conveyed to him from Sehwag during Australia’s circuit of India the aforesaid year.

“We discussed however the squad would operate, and I thought we were each connected the aforesaid page. How incorrect I was,” Maxwell writes successful his book. “Our coach, J Arunkumar, was coming successful for his archetypal season, and it became wide to him that helium was manager successful sanction only, with Sehwag pulling the strings.”

He adds, “When it came to selection, I thought it mightiness beryllium a bully thought to bring the coaches into a WhatsApp radical to marque our decisions. Everyone agreed to this and shared their teams, with the objection of Sehwag. At the extremity of the process, helium made it wide that helium would prime the starting XI, extremity of story.”

The Australian goes connected to adhd however this affected the franchise successful a play wherever they finished 5th successful the eight-team points table – narrowly missing retired connected the playoffs.

“Take mediocre aged Ishant Sharma. At 1 constituent helium was told not to fuss coming to our crippled that time successful Mumbai, having not been picked successful a while. We had respective different section bowlers, positive the Kiwi speedy Matt Henry had conscionable travel into the side. Doing the close thing, Ishant did a gym league and came on anyway, bowling astatine afloat gait successful the warm-up. Then Eoin Morgan was told that helium would beryllium a caller inclusion that day, taking the past overseas subordinate spot from Matt. Morgs protested that it wasn’t just to driblet Matt aft lone playing 1 game, truthful they rejigged again, near retired Morgs, and some Henry and Ishant played.”

The tensions betwixt the skipper and the mentor reached a boiling constituent astatine the extremity of the season, erstwhile Maxwell volunteered to bash the property league aft Punjab were rolled implicit by Rising Pune Supergiant for 73 successful their past game. Instead, Sehwag took to the presser and unloaded connected the skipper arsenic the ‘big disappointment’ of the season.

“I texted him to accidental however overmuch it wounded to work those comments and added that helium had mislaid a instrumentality successful maine for the mode helium had conducted himself. Sehwag’s effect was simple: “Don’t request instrumentality similar you.” We ne'er spoke again,” Maxwell says. “I knew my clip was astatine an extremity and told the owners arsenic much: if Sehwag was going to instrumentality around, they were making a mistake and not to fuss with me. He lone lasted 1 much season.”

Maxwell, who joined Delhi Capitals for the consequent play earlier returned backmost to Punjab, played his past crippled for the 2014 finalists successful 2020 earlier being signed by RCB successful 2021. His last play with Punjab saw Maxwell amass a specified 108 runs successful 13 matches – a lackluster show which led to Sehwag quoting him arsenic a ’10-crore cheerleader’ successful a video connected his Facebook page. “He has had a atrocious grounds of scoring runs implicit the past fewer seasons. But this campaign, helium went to caller extremes. This is what you telephone a highly-paid vacation,” Sehwag would say.