Glenn Maxwell of Royal Challengers Bangalore going back to pavilion during match 6 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings held at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on the 25th March 2024. (Sportzpics)
Glenn Maxwell bears no ill will towards Royal Challengers Bengaluru for not retaining him before the upcoming IPL auctions and even lauded the franchise for explaining to him the reason behind such a decision.
“I got a phone call from Mo Bobat and Andy Flower. I sat there on a zoom call, where they explained the decision not to be retained. It was actually really beautiful, except may be if that could be possible. We ended up talking about the game for about half-an-hour, talking about their strategy and what they are looking to do going forward,” Maxwell said on ESPNcricinfo’s Around the Wicket show.
“I completely understand the direction they are heading. They need 3 Indians to build that core and hopefully, their overseas players can complement those locals. I was really happy with that. If every team did that, I think probably will make relationships more smoother,” added the Australian.
Maxwell joined RCB in 2021 is currently the franchise’s fifth-highest run getter with 1266 runs from 52 matches and also played a key role in the middle-order in the past four seasons, out of which the Bengaluru side made it to three play-offs.
The all rounder, however, still has hope that he’ll be picked by RCB in the upcoming auctions.
“I won’t say my RCB innings is over but I would certainly like to get back there. It was a great franchise and I really enjoyed my time there,” he said.
RCB retained Virat Kohli at a whopping Rs 21 crore, making the former India captain the most-expensive Indian retention during the IPL 2025 Player Retentions on Thursday.
Besides Kohli, RCB retained middle-order batter Rajat Patidar and left-arm seamer Yash Dayal. While Patidar was retained at Rs 11 crore, Dayal was marked at Rs 5 crore. This also means that RCB will have three Right to Match (RTM) cards available during the upcoming IPL 2025 Mega Auction.
