IPL Auction 2021 / Maxwell bought by RCB for ₹14.25 crore after bidding battle with CSK

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has become the second most expensive Australian buy in the history of IPL. The 32-year-old all-rounder, who had a base price of ₹2 crore, was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹14.25 crore after a bidding battle with Chennai Super Kings. Maxwell was released by Punjab Kings (formerly KXIP) ahead of the auction.

Vikrant Shekhawat : Feb 18, 2021, 05:51 PM

Cricket Desk: Glenn Maxwell didn’t have the best of times in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he couldn’t hit a single six in the entire tournament. However, bearing in mind his stupendous prowess with the bat in hand, he was expected to be a player to watch out for in the auction. Moreover, the fact that he can bowl handy off-breaks makes him a handy player.

In the auction for the 2021 edition, the Victorian kept himself at the highest bracket of INR 2 crores. He was expected to fetch a handsome deal and things didn’t turn out any different by any means. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) opened the bidding and continued until INR 4.20 crore. Thereafter, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) joined in.

Glenn Maxwell goes massive

From there on, CSK and RCB engaged in a severe bidding-war for quite some time and both were in no mood to give up on the Victorian. The teams went berserk at the veteran. In the end, Maxwell went at a stunning price of INR 14.25 crores. Both teams took their own time and in the end, it was MS Dhoni’s CSK, who threw in the towel.

In the meantime, the netizens on Twitter couldn’t keep their calm after Maxwell earned the colossal amount in the auction. Social media flooded in with tweets on the all-round cricketer.

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian cricketer, reckoned that the Challengers would go all-out for Maxwell in the auction. Gambhir believed that the Challengers needed someone, who could give Virat and AB de Villiers some breathing space.

“Probably, they (RCB) will look at someone like Glenn Maxwell because they need to take a lot of pressure out of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers,” Gambhir was quoted as saying on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected – Auction Special’.

Calling Maxwell an X-factor, Gambhir stated that he could make a difference on batting-friendly pitches in Bangalore. “You want someone like an X-factor, like Maxwell, and at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where it’s flat and small, so he can have that impact. So, probably, they (RCB) will look at someone like Maxwell,” Gambhir added.