Punjab Kings' Glenn Maxwell appointed captain of this franchise days after announcing ODI retirement

Australia's Glenn Maxwell has been named captain of Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise Washington Freedom on the eve of third edition's opening game. Maxwell will take over captaincy from Steve Smith who led them to title win last year. The announcement comes days after Maxwell's retirement from ODIs.

However, Smith has not been removed as captain. The franchise on June 11 announced Smith is available to play two games in the season. For those two games, Smith will take over the captaincy role from Maxwell. 

Washington Freedom will kick off their campaign against Corey Anderson-led San Francisco Unicorns at Oakland Coliseum, California on June 12.

Why Smith isn't captaining Washington Freedom?

For a majority of matches in the season, Smith is unavailable to play for Washington Freedom due to national commitments. After the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against South Africa, Australia are scheduled to play a three-Test series on West Indies soil. He is likely join Washington Freedom during the window between WTC final and Caribbean tour. 

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How Maxwell fared in MLC 2024?

Maxwell was part of Washington Freedom in previous edition. From five innings, he scored 153 runs at an average of 38.25, including a half-century. He was impressive with the ball, taking 10 wickets at an average of 17 from eight games. His economy rate of 6.66 runs per over stood out. 

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Maxwell's T20 captaincy record 

The star all-rounder has led Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Glenn Maxwell in 65 games. During his captaincy renure, Melbourne Stars won 34 games, lost 30 whereas one ended in no result. Melbourne Stars are yet to win the BBL title. Maxwell captained Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). KXIP won seven games out of 14 under his captaincy and narrowly missed out on playoffs spot. PBKS are yet to win a title as well.

Washington Freedom Squad -

Steve Smith, Mark Chapman, Mukhtar Ahmed, Jack Edwards, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Maxwell (c), Mitchell Owen, Abhishek Paradkar, Obus Pienaar, Ian Holland, Justin Dill, Andries Gous, Lahiru Milantha, Saurabh Netravalkar, Amila Aponso, Yasir Mohammad, Lockie Ferguson, Jason Benrendorff, Ben Sears.