Maxwell hints at leadership ambition

Images courtesy of BCCI

Glenn Maxwell has hinted toward an interest in leadership in the future as the Kings XI Punjab star continues to shine in IPL7.

Maxwell blasted 45 from 27 balls, including his 18th and 19th sixes of the tournament, in his side’s first defeat of their campaign last night, against competition cellar dwellers Mumbai Indians.

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It took his tournament runs tally to 345 at a strike rate of 196 – comfortably the most runs this competition and easily the best strike-rate of any of the top 50 run-scorers.

Maxwell’s superb form has come off the back of his standout performances during Australia’s disappointing World T20 campaign, where he again led the way in terms of runs scored and sixes hit.

Now the enigmatic allrounder is talking leadership – something that hasn’t necessarily been naturally associated with the ultra-aggressive Victorian.

“I like thinking my way through the game,” Maxwell told www.iplt20.com. “People might not see it from the outside, but when I am batting, I am picking my areas to hit the ball and picking my bowlers.

“It’s not all about bashing the ball; I do like to outthink the opposition. Even while fielding, I think about the game situations.

“That’s the great thing about the IPL – it stretches your thinking and imagination and it gives a chance to grow to someone who wants to be a future leader.”

Maxwell has played one Test for Australia and was last summer censured publicly by Darren Lehmann for a lack of maturity at the crease in one-day internationals, and doubtless has a long way to go before being considered a future leader in national colours.

His form since that public reprimand has been scintillating however – Maxwell went on to score two centuries and a 90 in the Bupa Sheffield Shield before his Twenty20 exploits in the ICC World T20 tournament in Bangladesh, and his current IPL purple patch, to give the clearest indication possible that he has heeded his lesson.