Why Do IPL Teams Still Trust Glenn Maxwell Despite His Flops?

Australia’s star middle-order batsman and the man who is one of the main reasons why Australia won the 2023 ODI World Cup, as his heroic unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan helped Australia qualify for the next round, has yet again disappointed in the Indian Premier League. Glenn Maxwell’s inconsistency in the IPL remains a mystery to fans and critics alike. Despite being an international match-winner, Maxwell’s IPL 2025 campaign has been nothing short of a flop, raising serious concerns about his current form.

In the recent match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Maxwell managed 7 runs from 10 balls before falling to a sharp googly from Varun Chakaravarthy. His dismissal marked yet another failure, taking his total tally to a mere 41 runs in 6 matches this season. Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull even sarcastically remarked that Maxwell has been poor with the bat so far.

He just couldn’t read it. He couldn’t read it. It was a really good delivery. And Chakaravarthy, we had that quote from him before the game started. And he’s so true, it’s so right. It doesn’t matter what you see on a computer. You still have to play me. You still have to figure out where the ball is going, what it’s doing.

Punjab Kings, who dropped Marcus Stoinis reportedly due to injury, still chose to persist with Maxwell despite his dismal run, but he hasn’t been in the top form for the Punjab Kings team so far. Maxwell’s poor shot selection and inability to read the spin were evident. With Stoinis potentially out for a couple of weeks and Maxwell continuing to struggle, PBKS may soon have to rethink their strategy moving forward in IPL 2025.

Glenn Maxwell’s IPL Career

As a player in the IPL, Glenn Maxwell hasn’t been able to consistently live up to the expectations that come with his reputation as one of the most dangerous T20 batsmen in world cricket. Despite being known for his explosive hitting and match-winning abilities on the international stage, Maxwell’s IPL career has largely been a tale of unfulfilled potential, punctuated by only a few standout seasons. Across over a decade in the IPL, Maxwell has truly performed in only 3-4 seasons.

His breakout year came in 2014 with Punjab Kings, where he was sensational, scoring 552 runs in 16 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 187.75. He hammered 48 fours and 36 sixes that season, almost single-handedly powering Punjab to the finals. Another notable season for Punjab came in 2017, when he scored 310 runs at a strike rate of 173.18, showing glimpses of his match-winning capabilities. His most successful stint came with Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 2021, he scored 513 runs in 15 matches with an average of 42.75 and a strike rate of 144.10, including six half-centuries.

He backed it up with another explosive performance in 2023, racking up 400 runs in 14 matches at a staggering strike rate of 183.49, including five fifties. However, outside of these peak years, Maxwell’s performance has often been underwhelming. In 2020, he scored just 108 runs in 13 matches with a low strike rate of 101.88 and failed to hit a single six. In 2024, he managed only 52 runs in 10 games at a poor average of 5.78. The 2025 season has been even worse so far, with only 41 runs in 6 games at an average of 8.20. Such returns are disappointing for a player of Maxwell’s caliber and experience.

Will Punjab Kings Drop Glenn Maxwell Now?

With the IPL 2025 season, Punjab Kings has already managed to play a total of 6 matches so far, and here, Glenn Maxwell’s form has been one of the biggest talking points and not for the right reasons. Once considered one of the most explosive T20 batters in the world, Maxwell’s performances in this campaign have been underwhelming, to say the least. His returns with the bat in five innings read 0(1), 30(21), 1(2), 3(7), and 7(10), a string of failures with just one somewhat decent outing against the Rajasthan Royals this year. This dip is not just a 2025 concern, though, as it has been going on from the last season.

The slump began back in 2024, and over the past two seasons, Maxwell’s numbers have fallen off a cliff. Since the start of IPL 2024, he has played 14 innings, scoring only 93 runs at an average of just 6.64, the lowest among all batters who’ve played at least 10 innings in this period. His strike rate has dropped to 110.71, which is far from what’s expected of a power hitter of his reputation.

Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that he has been dismissed for a duck five times in those 14 innings. Despite this decline, Punjab Kings chose to bring Maxwell back at the 2025 auction for ₹4.20 crore, a move that sparked mixed reactions. While some fans hoped the Aussie veteran would bring back his old flair and rescue Punjab’s middle order, others questioned the logic of investing in a player whose form had been on a steady decline.