Glenn Maxwell has joined the Punjab Kings squad for a third time. This is his third stint and possibly last. He would hope that this stint would be better than the last two. The memories of an infamous spat with then-mentor Virender Sehwag would still be fresh in his memory. And the last IPL he played for PBKS in 2021, he had one of the worst seasons, scoring only 108 runs in 11 innings. In his book “Glenn Maxwell: The Showman,” the charismatic Australian all-rounder revealed the fallout and how Sehwag lost a fan in him.
It wasn’t always low though. In 2014, when Glenn Maxwell joined Punjab Kings, it was the best year of his career and for the franchise. He scored 552 runs and was the Player of the Tournament. However, in 2017, when Maxwell became the captain and Virender Sehwag became the mentor, things turned ugly. The Australian accused Sehwag of removing him from the team’s WhatsApp group and calling him a “big disappointment” after the season ended.
𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝!
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 20, 2025#GlennMaxwell #PunjabKings #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/LueolMXU17
Maxwell vs Sehwag: Relation beyond repair
The tipping point arrived after a disappointing 2017 campaign when Punjab collapsed to a mere 73 runs in a crucial match. Despite volunteering to face the press, Maxwell was overshadowed by Sehwag’s stinging public criticism, labelling him a “big disappointment.”
That harsh criticism left Maxwell upset and it all ended with an exchange of text messages. When Maxwell texted Sehwag saying, he had lost a fan in him, the Indian great responded, “Don’t need a fan like you.” That was the final blow, leading Maxwell to issue an ultimatum: he would not play for the team under Sehwag’s mentorship again.
“I volunteered to do press that night, but Sehwag said he would instead. Upon getting onto the team bus, I found I’d been deleted from the main WhatsApp group. What was going on here? By the time we reached the hotel, my phone was blowing up, with Sehwag having unloaded on me as a “big disappointment”. He blamed me for not taking responsibility as captain. It was unpleasant, especially when I thought we had parted on good terms,” Maxwell said in his book.
Life After Sehwag
Maxwell’s journey continues with his return to a Sehwag-less Punjab team in the disrupted 2020 season, though it was less than stellar on the field. After leaving PBKS, his stint with RCB became a huge hit, at least for the first three seasons. He became a successful part of the famous KGF trio along with Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. While RCB failed to win any title, their camaraderie was great on and off the field. But it also ended with a lowly 52-run stint in IPL 2024. He averaged 5.77 in nine innings.
He returns to Punjab Kings again, for one last hurrah, in IPL 2025. At 36 years of age, this three-year stint is likely his last in IPL. And he would seek redemption. Having left the franchise twice on bad terms and failing in 2024, Maxwell would want to show he’s still got it.
