IPL 2020: 5 Players Who Could Replace Glenn Maxwell In Kings XI Punjab Squad

The return of Glenn Maxwell to form in the Big Bash League (BBL) was a massive relief for the fans of him across the world, as they would like to watch him delivering more on the field. Unfortunately, just when things looked all set for him to have a majestic time ahead, he suffered an elbow injury, which ruled him out of South Africa tour and also a doubtful starter for the initial part of IPL 2020.

Maxwell has not ruled himself out of the IPL just yet, but it doesn’t seem likely for him to get fit in time for the tournament. Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) had spent INR 10.75 crores–to secure the services of Maxwell in the auction and if he is not available, it will be a major blow for them.

The news has shocked the cricket universe, especially the fans of Punjab as the franchise expected a lot from him.

However, it wasn’t the first time for the franchise to experience such heartbreaks and they would look for the possible replacements of Maxwell.

Meanwhile, we figured out five players, who could well sit in the plans of Kings XI for IPL 2020.

5 players who could replace Glenn Maxwell in the IPL 2020:

5. Colin de Grandhomme:

The main objective of picking Glenn Maxwell is to have a finisher for the team as the lineup boasts with the likes of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal. With the Australian out from the frame, one such guy who can take the burden on the shoulders is Colin de Grandhomme of New Zealand.

He got the merits to deliver the match-winning knocks under pressure and also got the knack of picking wickets with his decent line and lengths. Colin already has enough experience under his belt to understand his role in the team.

Grandhomme’s numbers in the IPL don’t do any justice to his potential. He has also been a little unlucky with regards to the fact that he has not got regular playing opportunities at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), two of his previous franchises.

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4. Heinrich Klaasen:

The flamboyant batsman is one of the most underrated youngsters in world cricket at the moment. He got the calibre to deal with the best bowlers across the world and got the nerves to play under pressure.

Klaasen is just one opportunity away from showcasing his class with the bat in IPL, something which, Punjab can utilise.

Having impressed during the white-ball series against India, the wicket-keeper batsman was called up as a replacement for Australia’s Steven Smith. Although he wasn’t a first-choice player, Klaasen held himself fairly well in the four games he got to play.

Released before the 2019 auctions, Klaasen was bought by the Challengers, who snapped up the 27-year old at the base price of 50 lakh rupees. With Parthiv performing well, Klaasen hardly got a chance to prove.

However, this lad is in brilliant form for South Africa, smashing runs for fun in the recently concluded series against England.

3. Martin Guptill:

Here comes yet another New Zealander, who can turn the game in a quick time for his side. The flamboyant batsman hardly had an impactful IPL season but the world cricket knew his calibre in changing the complexion of the game with his brilliant strokeplay.

Though Kings XI have designated openers, they can pick him in the lineup with KL Rahul’s flexibility to play at any position. They can even ask Pooran to be the finisher of the team by changing the combination of the top-order.

A key feature of Martin Guptill’s batting is the rhythm of his strokeplay. When in flow, he is a very difficult batsman to stop because of his impeccable ability to deal with the pacers as well as spinners.

There could be days when he can get out in frustrating ways but that’s the nature of brute in Guptill.

2. Carlos Brathwaite:

One of the major surprises from the IPL 2020 auction was the exclusion of Carlos Brathwaite. The flamboyant cricketer, who can deliver goods both with the bat and the ball couldn’t attract a bid in the auction.

However, Kings XI Punjab can make the most of it by asking him to don their jersey in place of Maxwell.

With his big-hitting prowess down the order, Brathwaite can pull off magical victories for the team out of nowhere. With a lot of class players in the lineup, the addition of Brathwaite will give them a perfect finisher to make things fall in place.

Just like Maxwell, he can up the ante at any stage and can bowl many more overs than the Australian. Remembered for hitting four back-to-back sixes off Ben Stokes in the T20 World Cup final, Brathwaite holds an impressive record in the shortest format – where he has 1520 runs and 139 wickets in 159 matches.

1. Evin Lewis:

Who would have expected Evin Lewis to be on the unsold players’ list of IPL 2020? The flamboyant cricketer is one such player, who can change the complexion of the game without breaking a sweat.

The attacking southpaw from the West Indies needs no introduction in the realms of explosive cricket. He has cracked the code of hitting effortless sixes.

Presence of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock at the top meant that Lewis could feature in only three games in the 2019 season which resulted in a paltry 48 runs and paved the way for his release from the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) squad ahead of the IPL 2020 auctions.

Further, Punjab needs to change its combination if they embed Lewis in the side. But by doing so, they can have one heck of a batting line-up with Gayle, Rahul and Lewis forming top-order while Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz, Mandeep and Pooran looking after the middle-order and finisher roles.