IPL 2020: Kevin Pietersen Advises KXIP To Drop Glenn Maxwell Or Give Him Only One More Chance

Former English captain Kevin Pietersen has not been impressed with Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. Glenn Maxwell has so far been one of the significant disappointments for Kings XI Punjab, who have lost five out of six games and teetering at the bottom of the table. Kevin Pietersen calls for the management to take the hard call on Maxwell if they want to get their campaign on track.

Glenn Maxwell has so far managed only 48 runs in six games at an awful strike rate of 85.71. He has the best score of unbeaten 13 and snapped a wicket while maintaining an economy rate of 9.29. Maxwell had the opportunity to win the game for Punjab against SunRisers Hyderabad on Thursday in the company of Nicholas Pooran. However, he was involved in an unfortunate run-out only after facing 11 deliveries that yielded seven runs.

Kevin Pietersen lamented a challenging year for KL Rahul, having not got the support of his massive foreign players. He underlined Glenn Maxwell in particular, who needs to either be omitted or given only one more chance.

“This year will be very very difficult for him (Rahul). He has not got the support of his big players and that one particular big player is Maxwell. Maxwell needs to either be sidelined or he gets one more chance,” Pietersen told in the Star Sports post-match show.

“There is so much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal going into the chase” : Kevin Pietersen

The South African born cricketer stated that there was undue pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in pursuit of 202 against SunRisers Hyderabad. He added that it is unfair to expect KL Rahul to carry all the responsibilities since the other overseas players are not sharing the burden of scoring the runs. KL Rahul-led Kings XI Punjab will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the 24th match in Dubai.

“There is so much pressure on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal going into the chase. It’s unfair pressure. It’s okay Nicholas Pooran played nicely. There are some good players in and around. You can’t have him captain and give him wicketkeeping responsibilities and then have him thinking that he has to score all the runs because the other overseas players are not getting the runs. There is a hell of a lot of pressure,” he added.

Also Read: IPL 2020: Pragyan Ojha Rues KXIP’s Brittle Middle-Order The Reason Behind KL Rahul Feeling The Pressure