Cricket great's stunning swipe at $2.2 million Aussie 'cheerleader'

Glenn Maxwell has been in red-hot form in Australia's limited overs matches against India this summer, despite the hosts going down 2-1 in the recently completed T20 series.

The Aussie allrounder racked up 78 runs across the three T20 matches, as well as 167 runs in the ODIs to help guide the Aussies to a one-day series victory.

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The Victorian’s blistering run of form has silenced many of his critics after what was an underwhelming Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign for the Aussie in 2020.

However, one of Maxwell's constant critics has taken the opportunity to take a fresh swipe at the 32-year-old, claiming he comes to India for the free drinks and doesn't really care about how he performs.

Former India batsman Virender Sehwag has spoken out against Maxwell in the past, referring to him as a glorified "cheerleader" whose attitude when playing in the IPL is completely different to when he represents his country.

“His attitude changes when he plays for Australia. When he goes to Australia, he knows that if he has two or three bad innings, he will be left out of the Australian team and it will be difficult to make a comeback," Sehwag said.

“He (Maxwell) doesn’t take pressure at all (In IPL). He is there only for enjoyment. He will do everything in the match encourage players, roam around, dance... other than scoring runs.

"As soon as the match is over, if he is getting free drinks, he will take that to his room or go to the room and have a lot of drinks.

“So, I never felt that he is that serious about the game. When he comes to the IPL, he is more serious about his golf than cricket. Because if you are that serious, the performance shows."

Criticism of Maxwell is nothing new from Sehwag and the Aussie has previously brushed off remarks from the Indian batting great.

"It's ok. Viru is pretty outspoken with his dislike of me, and that's fine," Maxwell said last month.

"He's allowed to say whatever he likes. He's in the media for such statements, so that's fine. I deal with that and move on, and take it with a grain of salt with Sehwag."

Maxwell's ODI series included swashbuckling knocks of 45, 63 not out and 59, with another half century (54 runs) coming in Australia's final T20 match against India.

Maxwell’s form in the IPL questioned

However, the allrounder has struggled to replicate that form in the IPL with Kings XI Punjab, who signed the Aussie star on a whopping $2.2 million dal at last year's auction.

Maxwell's highest score in this year's tournament was a measly 32 and incredibly, he failed to hit a single six after averaging just 15.42 with the bat.

The 32-year-old also struggled for the Delhi Daredevils, who opted to cut him after the 2018 season.

Sehwag described Maxwell's efforts in this year's IPL as a "highly-paid vacation".

Another former India star, Mohammad Kaif, says he thinks the pressure of being a foreign player in the IPL affected Maxwell.

“It is absolutely amazing. Everyone has the hope that he will fire in the IPL, that he will do well this year,” Kaif said this week.

“Probably he feels more pressure in the IPL because only four foreign players can play (in each team) and seven Indians. So the competition between foreign players is high.

“But once he comes back home, it has just been two-to-three weeks since the IPL in UAE, there is such a huge difference. He is able to play the reverse sweeps, switch hits, and is able to hit shots in whichever angle he wants.

“So, it is not a problem with the player’s skills but probably a problem with the mindset in the IPL.”

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