Glenn Maxwell squeezed and pressed by Irfan Pathan and Kevin Pietersen after a disastrous IPL 2024 campaign for RCB

Irfan Pathan and Kevin Pietersen came down hard on Glenn Maxwell for yet another horrible batting show when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) needed the Australian all-rounder to step up with the bat in the IPL 2024 Eliminator against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Maxwell was the biggest flop for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2024, but the franchise showed faith in him for the all-important eliminator against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and they paid the price for it at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, May 22.

Glenn Maxwell falls for golden duck in RCB vs RR Eliminator

In a very crucial moment of the thrilling IPL 2024 Eliminator, RR spinner Ravichandran Ashwin removed Maxwell for a golden duck at the world's largest cricket stadium. The Australian all-rounder, who is known for his explosive batting, fell prey to Ashwin's spin trap after his in-form teammate Cameron Green was removed by the RR spinner for 27 off 21 balls.

With this unfortunate dismissal, Maxwell achieved an embarrassing record of registering 18 ducks in the IPL, equaling the record for most ducks in the cash-rich league held by Dinesh Karthik. This list is closely followed by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who has 17 ducks to his name in his IPL career.

Well, after Maxwell’s wicket, only Mahipal Lomror could face the RR’s bowling attack and managed 32 runs off 17 balls laced with two fours and two sixes to help RCB post 172/8 on the board in their 20 overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Irfan Pathan and Kevin Pietersen slam Glenn Maxwell for poor show in IPL 2024 Elimination

Earlier, Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar could only cross the 30+ mark, with Avesh Khan (3/44) emerging as the RR hero with the ball in Ahmedabad. During the RCB’s innings, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who was commenting on the match, lashed out at Maxwell for another poor display for the RCB when they were in danger against RR.

Taking to microblogging site X, Pathan said, “What was Maxwell doing?”

What was maxwell doing?

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 22, 2024

On the other hand, former England captain and commentator Kevin Pietersen did not shy away from expressing his frustration at Maxwell for his flop show in the big game for RCB. The commentator said that the fans and team were expecting something special from the Australian, but he let everyone down.

Kevin Pietersen said on-air: “What on earth was that from Glenn Maxwell? This is a huge game, you need your biggest players to perform, you need to give yourself a chance. That from Glenn Maxwell isn’t good enough.”

Notably, Maxwell was the biggest flop player from the RCB camp, and his misery is a real concern for Australia after he failed to make any contribution to the IPL franchise this season. The star all-rounder scored only 52 runs and took six wickets for RCB in the IPL 2024. It was probably the worst IPL season of his career.

Even though Maxwell had taken a break from this season for a few matches, things remained the same, which is not a good sign for Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup in 2024 in the USA and West Indies.