3 players who can replace Glenn Maxwell if he is ruled out of IPL 2020

The Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell had opted out of IPL 2019 because of the ICC World Cup 2019 which was scheduled to take place immediately after the IPL ended. He then took a break from cricket because of mental issues however, he soon returned to the cricket field and made himself available for IPL 2020.

He enrolled his name in the IPL Auction 2020 where his services were purchased by his former franchise, Kings XI Punjab. The hard-hitting player was one of the costliest buys of this season and, the fans were excited to see the quartet of Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran and Glenn Maxwell play together in IPL 2020.

Unfortunately, the all-rounder has been ruled out of the initial stages of IPL because of an elbow injury and he will be undergoing a surgery in Melbourne. Looking at the seriousness of the injury, it seems like Maxwell will only miss a few matches for KXIP, but there are chance of him missing all the games as well.

Here are the 3 players who can replace Maxwell in case he fails to recover for the entire season: –

1. Colin de Grandhomme 

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore player, Colin de Grandhomme had a disastrous IPL season in 2019. He failed to finish off matches with the bat while he even struggled to make an impact with the ball. Hence, he was released by RCB.

He went unsold in IPL 2020 however, given how he played in the recent limited overs matches against India, he can come back to the IPL in the form of a replacement. The all-rounder has a similar batting style like Maxwell hence, he can be a like-for-like replacement in the batting department.

Although he is not a spin bowler, he can form a good partnership with the duo of Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell in the pace bowling attack. The pitch at Mohali will assist a bowler like de Grandhomme which is why the team management should try to get him on board as a replacement.

2. Daniel Sams 

Although Daniel Sams is not a reputed name in the international arena like Colin de Grandhomme, the reason why Kings XI Punjab may look to sign him is that he was the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded Big Bash League. The all-rounder played a huge role in the success that Sydney Thunder achieved.

Sams has played 37 T20 matches in his career where he has scalped 52 wickets at a decent economy rate of 8.13. With the bat, he has amassed 242 runs with his highest score being 42.

The 27-year-old is not a batting all-rounder like Maxwell but, Kings XI Punjab may sign him because they do not have the same firepower in their bowling attack. In the batting lineup, they have Gayle, Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran and Sarfaraz Khan but their bowling department needs some work and they can play a masterstroke by signing Sams as a replacement.

3. Carlos Brathwaite 

Another hard-hitting batting option like Glenn Maxwell, Carlos Brathwaite will be on the radar of Kings XI Punjab because they have shown excessive interest in the Caribbean players. They already have three West Indian players namely Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Sheldon Cottrell in their squad and, they will not mind adding one more Caribbean star in their team.

Brathwaite is a well known T20 player who had turned up for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2019. Because of Andre Russell’s presence, he did not get enough opportunities to prove himself at KKR.

But, he can make a name for himself by playing for KXIP in IPL 2020. He has a good idea about the conditions in India having played so many matches here so, the Mohali-based franchise may sign him as Maxwell’s replacement.