'You want him to play freely' - Irfan Pathan on why RCB shouldn't appoint Glenn Maxwell as captain

Glenn Maxwell, who is reportedly one of the players that RCB is set to retain, is considered as the strongest contender for the captaincy role. However, according to former India cricketer and commentator Irfan Pathan, the Australian all-rounder might not be appointed as the skipper of RCB. He feels that the team will want him to perform without any pressure and thus, one might not tempt to give him the captaincy responsibility.

Maxwell had a splendid season with RCB in the IPL 2021. He ticked the massive box of middle-order batting and put the team in a dominating position on many occasions. He was the highest run-getter for the side in the previous season as he chipped in 513 runs from 15 matches at an average of 42.57.

About captaincy, Maxwell led PBKS in IPL 2017 and also captained the Melbourne Stars in Big Bash League 2020/21. Maxwell is considered as one of the veterans of the shortest format even though he hasn’t been in the leadership role for Australia.

You want Glenn Maxwell to play freely: Irfan Pathan

“I think someone from the auction. Because whatever the 4 players are in my head, Virat is obviously not going to captain he has announced that, Glenn Maxwell is there, but you do not want to give him the captaincy because he is kind of a free-flowing cricketer and you do not want to give him that kind of responsibility. You want him to play freely,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.

With the IPL 2022 mega auction on cards, the franchises have been putting their thinking hats on for the retentions. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given the deadline of 30^th November to the franchises to announce the list of their retained and released players.

Taking into consideration RCB’s scenario, with Kohli not captaining the team for the upcoming season the franchise has a big task of appointing the skipper who can fill in Kohli’s shoes. Thus, it remains to be seen if RCB’s management goes with Maxwell for the captaincy duties. Along with RCB, a few other teams are also in the hunt of finding a new skipper.