“’No More Hunger’: Glenn Maxwell’s Clash with Indian Icon Heats Up Over IPL ‘Holiday’ Claim”

Indian cricket legend Virender Sehwag has reignited his ongoing clash with Glenn Maxwell, alleging that the Australian star treats the IPL as little more than a “holiday”.

After a series of disappointing performances by the Punjab Kings, coach Ricky Ponting made the decision to omit Maxwell from the lineup for the last two matches, following his scores of 0, 30, 1, 3, and 7 in this season’s tournament.

In an interview with Cricbuzz, Sehwag expressed his belief that both Maxwell and England batsman Liam Livingstone lack the necessary drive to succeed.

“They come to India for a holiday,” he commented. 

“It appears they don’t genuinely care about their teams or feel passionate about winning. They haven’t secured a trophy yet, and they need to change that this year.”

“I’ve played alongside many overseas players, and perhaps only one or two showed the hunger. The rest just speak without delivering results on the pitch,” he added.

Livingstone has managed just 87 runs across six innings, averaging 17.4, while contributing two wickets with the ball. Meanwhile, Maxwell has accumulated only 41 runs, taking four wickets at an average of 27.5.

The rivalry between Maxwell and Sehwag can be traced back to Sehwag’s time with the Kings following his international retirement, culminating in the pair losing the 2014 IPL final together.

After Sehwag hung up his boots for good, he remained affiliated with the Kings, who suffered consecutive last-place finishes in the IPL.

In his upcoming book The Showman, Maxwell suggested that Sehwag’s heavy-handed approach in running the team, despite lacking the roles of captain or coach, contributed to their struggles during those two seasons.

“When it came to team selection, I thought it would be beneficial to involve the coaches in a WhatsApp group to facilitate our decisions,” he wrote.

“Everyone agreed to this and shared their suggestions—except for Sehwag, who made it clear that he would decide the final XI, no matter what.”

“By then, we were facing defeats both on and off the field, and Sehwag often made decisions that seemed illogical.”

Their exchanges intensified after the 2017 season in which the Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) narrowly missed the finals.

After a nine-wicket loss in their last match, where they were bowled out for just 73 runs, Maxwell offered to face the media but was prevented by Sehwag.

In that press conference, Sehwag described Maxwell as a “major disappointment” and labelled him as someone who shirked responsibility as a captain.

Maxwell later expressed that he felt blindsided by Sehwag’s comments.

“Upon getting on the team bus, I discovered that I had been removed from the main WhatsApp group. I was utterly confused.”

“Once we reached the hotel, my phone exploded with notifications as Sehwag had publicly criticised me as a ‘big disappointment,’ accusing me of not stepping up as captain, among other things. It was quite distressing, particularly since I thought we ended things on good terms.”

“I reached out to him to express how much those comments hurt me, adding that he had lost a fan in me due to his behaviour. Sehwag’s terse reply was, ‘I don’t need a fan like you.’

“From that point on, we never spoke again.”

Maxwell’s Australian teammate Jake Fraser-McGurk has also been having a challenging IPL season, dropped by the Delhi Capitals after managing just 55 runs in six matches, following a spate of poor shots.