Glenn Maxwell looks completely out of sorts since he's arrived in the IPL: Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has come up with some strong criticism for KXIP’s swashbuckling all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. Gambhir opened up after Maxwell’s yet another below-average performance in IPL 2020.

The Australian once again failed to produce anything significant as he scored 11 off 18 during Punjab’s chase against Mumbai Indians. This was the fourth consecutive time when Maxwell failed to live up to the expectations.

During Punjab’s first three outings, he could manage only 1, 5, and 13* as he emerged as a weak spot for his team. This is not the first time he has been struggling to make a mark in IPL as his low journey has been going on after the tremendous 2014 season.

In the 2014 season, where Punjab reached the finals of IPL, he scored 552 runs in the season. After that, he has been able to get past the 200-run mark only once as he has scored 833 runs in 52 innings with an average of 18.10.

Glenn Maxwell has been too hot and cold: Gautam Gambhir

The former KKR skipper also feels that Maxwell is nowhere matching the standards of great batsmen like Andre Russell or AB de Villiers. The franchise must rethink his worth and analyze if he is really the match-winner they are looking for. Punjab roped in Maxwell in IPL 2020 players’ auction at a whopping 10.75 crore.

“Glenn Maxwell has had only one decent IPL in the last 6-7 years. For the amount of money he has been bought for, he has been too hot and cold. He looks completely out of sorts. Since he’s arrived in the IPL, he doesn’t look like the player he was against England,” said Gambhir on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out.

“Not sure if it has to do with wickets (conditions) or money pressure, but if you look at Maxwell’s performance in the IPL over an extended period of time, it has been very hot and cold. Franchises need to re-think whether Glenn Maxwell actually is the match-winner they think he is,” concluded Gambhir.

Gambhir also opined that he would have invested in the likes of Jonny Bairstow or Kane Williamson rather than Maxwell.