Australia will now boast three captains in the T20 tournament as Maxwell joins Steve Smith and David Warner in a leadership role
Maxwell lands IPL captaincy role
The Indian Premier League is set to feature three separate Australian captains this season after Kings XI Punjab announced Glenn Maxwell as their new skipper.
Maxwell will take the reins at the franchise for the 2017 edition of the lucrative T20 tournament, joining fellow IPL skippers Steve Smith, who will lead the Rising Pune Supergiants for the first time this season, and David Warner, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad to last year’s IPL title.
With fireworks in his batting, bowling & fielding it's time to unleash the Captain in him.
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) March 9, 2017
The King of our Pride this season - @Gmaxi_32! pic.twitter.com/HkAEYtft9w
The Victorian takes over from India Test opener Murali Vijay,
Maxwell was a surprise pick for the role given his lack of captaincy experience, beating out the likes of England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan, former West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy and South Africa veteran Hashim Amla.
Vijay took over the role from Proteas batsman David Miller mid-way through last year's tournament after the side lost five of their first six games.
Kings XI went on to finish bottom of the IPL ladder.
Maxwell was the IPL Player of the Tournament in 2014 but was left out of the Kings XI side for stretches of last year's competition.
The 28-year-old will become the fourth Australian to lead the franchise after George Bailey, David Hussey and legendary wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
Maxwell is one of three Australians in the Kings XI squad for IPL10, along with Test squad members Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis.
The news comes as Maxwell pushes for a spot in Australia’s XI for the third Test in Ranchi, with incumbent No.6 Mitch Marsh flying home with a shoulder injury.