Sydney: Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is excited to playing alongside Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, terming the Indian skipper ‘the pinnacle of the game’, He said RCB stint is going to be next level as the Aussie heaped praise on Kohli for his sheer dominance across formats.
“It’s going to be next level. He’s been the pinnacle of the game for a while as a multi-format player from Tests all the way to T20s. He’s been able to adapt his game, dominate for a long period of time and deal with the Indian pressure of being their captain and their best player,” Maxwell said.
Maxwell will now play under the leadership of Kohli and is excited to learn some ‘leadership stuff’ from him. “I’m looking forward to watching him go about his work, not just in games but in training, and hopefully tapping into some of the leadership stuff and try and learn off him,” he added.
The 32-year-old said that he has developed a good friendship with Kohli over the years, adding that the Indian maestro backed him when he took a mental health break in 2019.
“He’s been a solid backer of my stance. In a way, he probably understood a lot of the things that I was going through.. a lot of expectation and pressure, which I’m sure he can relate to,” Maxwell added.
Maxwell was one of the most expensive purchases in the IPL auctions that took place last month. The right-handed batsman was picked up by RCB for Rs 14.25 crore. The 32-year-old was earlier released by Punjab Kings.
