Kings XI Punjab head coach Anil Kumble has revealed the franchise needed a power hitter in the team and that is why they paid a huge amount for Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell at the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
Notably, Maxwell turned up the heat in the IPL 2020 auction as he emerged as one of the costliest players with Kings XI Punjab buying him at a whopping price of INR 10.75 crore.
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“We needed a power hitter and we felt Maxwell was the right person to fill that gap,” Kumble said while speaking at Star Sports’ Cricket Live Show as quoted by IANS.
“We have done well, because we had almost 50 per cent getting into the auction and by far we have gotten what we wanted. This is a good platform for Glenn Maxwell with the T20 World Cup around the corner to come here and we know the quality he brings, not just as a batsman but as a fielder and a bowling option and he can bat anywhere in the middle order too,” he added.
Maxwell, with the base price of INR 2 crore, was expected to be one of the biggest attention-seekers at the auction, being held in Kolkata and so happened when Delhi Capitals and KXIP engaged in a fierce bidding war for the 31-year-old.
However, the Mohali-based franchise kept on with their interest for the Australian and went at the extent of paying him more than Rs 10 crore.