Maxwell eyeing T20 World Cup berth through BBL performances

Glenn Maxwell, the explosive Australia all-rounder, was left out of the ODI squad to tour India, but having set BBL 9 alight with an enterprising half-century, he declared his keenness to feature in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.

Maxwell, who recently?took a short break from cricket?to cope with mental health issues, made a resounding impact on his comeback, smashing 83 from just 39 balls for Melbourne Stars to set up the team’s 22-run win over Brisbane Heat. The captain’s innings was laden with 12 boundaries, five of which were over the ropes.

After that dazzling display, Maxwell, announced his intentions to keep performing in the BBL and ensure he remains in contention for T20I selection, particularly with a home World Cup coming up in October next year.

“Yeah, certainly [want to remain in Australia’s T20I squad], especially with the T20 World Cup around the corner,” Maxwell said. “There’s that big carrot I suppose at the start of next season, and I’ll be doing everything I can to work towards that.”

After the BBL, Maxwell will have the opportunity to further solidify his case for national selection in the IPL 2020. In the recently-concluded IPL auction, it was clear that the 31-year-old is still very much in demand in the shortest format as he secured a staggering INR 10.75 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab, becoming the second-most expensive player in the auction?behind compatriot Pat Cummins.

Maxwell said he was keenly following the auction, and he couldn’t have been more satisfied with the outcome. “I was extremely happy,” he said. “We were following it with coaching staff. We were watching all the Stars players come out, and when my name came out we were just refreshing like mad. Couldn’t watch it anywhere, so we were just watching it on the Twitter feed.

“Very exciting and glad to be going home to the Kings XI [Punjab]. I’ve got a lot of great memories there, had four really good years there, so looking forward to getting back.”