Australian allrounder, Glenn Maxwell, finally broke silence on not getting retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The franchise has gone on to retain just three players: Virat Kohli (INR 21 Cr), Rajat Patidar (INR 11 Cr) and Yash Dayal (INR 5 Crore) using INR 37 Crore.
RCB now have a purse worth Rs 83 crore to use in the upcoming auction on November 24 and 25. They also have three Right-To-match (RTM) cards to use in the mega auction. Maxwell was one of the star names who was released by RCB and he recently talked about how he was informed about it.
The Australian all-rounder said that he was called by Mo Bobat and the Head Coach, Andy Flower, where he was thoroughly explained the rationale behind their retention decisions and the idea behind not retaining him. Maxwell praised the way of exit meeting and how it was conducted. He explained that they talked about the game and their planning for the upcoming mega auction.
“I got a phone call from Mo Bobat and Andy Flower. I sat there on a zoom call, and they sort of explained to me the decision not to be retained. And, it was actually a really beautiful exit meeting, if that if that could be possible. We ended up talking about the game for about half an hour and talking about their strategy and what they were looking to get to do, going forward. So, I was really happy with that,” said Maxwell on ESPNCricinfo’s Around the wicket show.
Glenn Maxwell feels that his journey with RCB is not over
Maxwell also went on to say that his journey with RCB is not over. He understood that the franchise is also having a revamp in their coaching staff and hence they needed to sort that first before talking to the players.
Maxwell expressed that there’s always some anxiety leading up to the decision on whether he would be kept by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) or let go.
He acknowledged understanding the team’s strategic direction, particularly their decision to focus on building a core group around three Indian players.
The all-rounder mentioned that he hopes the foreign players, including himself potentially, could enhance and work well with the local talent. Despite not being retained, Maxwell remains open to the possibility of returning to RCB. He indicated that he had a positive experience with the team and enjoyed his stint there.
Maxwell really had a dismal show with the bat for RCB in IPL 2024. He played nine innings in the 10 matches played for the franchise and scored just 52 runs with an average of 5.77. His highest score was 28. That might have been one of the big reasons why he was not retained by the franchise.
