Australia's superstar all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has made startling revelations about his strained relationship with India's legendary batter Virender Sehwag during the 2017 IPL season. In his recently released book'The Showman', Maxwell disclosed that the two have not spoken since that season.
Glenn Maxwell's startling revelation on strained relation with Virender Sehwag during time with Kings XI Punjab
Maxwell's journey with the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) spanned from 2014 to 2017. His exceptional performance in 2014, where he scored 552 runs at a strike rate of 187, played a pivotal role in the team's qualification for the final. However, his form dipped in subsequent years.
In 2017, Virender Sehwag took on the role of mentor, and Maxwell was appointed captain. Unfortunately, Maxwell's performance as both player and captain was underwhelming. He scored 310 runs in 13 innings, failing to register a single half-century, and the team narrowly missed out on the playoffs with seven wins in 14 matches. Maxwell revealed that multiple incidents during and after the season led to a deterioration in his relationship with Sehwag. The fallout between the two has left a lasting impact.
Meddling in Playing 11
Maxwell disclosed that Sehwag asserted his presence within the team and disregarded the decisions made by skipper Maxwell and other squad members concerning the final lineup. He emphasized that Sehwag did not take their input into account when it came to determining the playing eleven.
“When it came to selection, I thought it might be a good idea to bring the coaches into a WhatsApp group to make our decisions. Everyone agreed to this and shared their teams, with the exception of Sehwag,” Maxwell wrote in his book.
“At the end of the process, he made it clear that he would pick the starting XI, end of story. We were losing on and off the field by now, with Sehwag on more than one occasion making decisions that didn’t necessarily make sense”, Maxwell added.
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'Removed from WhatsApp group'
Maxwell went on to reveals a specific incident where Sehwag removed him from a WhatsApp group and publicly insulted him.
“The season came down to our final group game against Pune away from home, and we had a shocker batting first on a wet wicket, rolled for 73. It was all over. In the context of what was going on, I’m still quite proud of how we were able to broadly keep the show on the road until that stage,” Maxwell began.
“I was also happy with how I performed, doing the right thing as leader by giving myself the chance to influence games at the right time with bat and ball. Of course, we were all flat not to make the post-season, but it could have been so much worse”.
“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”,blaming me for not taking responsibility as captain, and all the rest. It was unpleasant, especially when I thought we had parted on good terms.”
'Don’t need fan like you'
Maxwell, taken aback by Sehwag's public criticism, attempted to reach out to him via text message, but his efforts were met with further reprimand.
“I texted him to say how much it hurt to read those comments and added that he had lost a fan in me for the way he had conducted himself. Sehwag’s response was simple: “Don’t need fan like you.” We never spoke again. I knew my time was at an end and told the owners as much: if Sehwag was going to stick around, they were making a mistake and not to bother with me. He only lasted one more season,” Maxwell wrote in his Book.
“I texted him to say how much it hurt to read those comments and added that he had lost a fan in me for the way he had conducted himself. Sehwag’s response was simple: “Don’t need fan like you.” We never spoke again. I knew my time was at an end and told the owners as much: if Sehwag was going to stick around, they were making a mistake and not to bother with me. He only lasted one more season,” Maxwell wrote in his Book.
Maxwell returned to the Punjab Kings in 2020 after a three-year hiatus, but Sehwag had already left the team two years prior. Unfortunately, Maxwell's second stint with the franchise was also disappointing, leading to his release in 2021.
Since then, Maxwell has been a key player for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, consistently performing well. However, after a relatively poor season in 2023, Sehwag once again criticized Maxwell, suggesting that he was enjoying a carefree lifestyle despite his lackluster performance. It remains unclear whether the tension between the two has eased over time or still persists.
