Veteran Australian T20 batter Glenn Maxwell was not named in the list of retained players when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) announced their retentions last month. Maxwell was already not expected to be retained after his poor run in the previous season.
However, a few days after the announcement of retentions, he revealed that the information of this decision was given to him over a video call and also indicate that he may even get retained via Right to Match (RTM) card in the mega auctions later this month.
“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,” Maxwell said on ‘Around the wicket Show’ by ESPNcricinfo.
“They were obviously changing a few of their staff as well. So they needed to get that sorted before they started talking to players. And I understood that process was going to take a bit of time. And, but yeah, you’re always sort of getting a little bit edgy around that, that last date about whether you’re gonna be retained and not so sure what’s gonna happen. But, completely understand what they the direction they’re heading in. They went, with three unions to build that core. And, yeah, hopefully their overseas can complement, those locals. Yeah I wouldn’t say my RCB journey’s over, but, yeah, I’d certainly love to get back there. It was a great franchise to play for and really enjoyed my time there,” he added.
RCB retained only three players before the mega auctions. Kohli was their top pick at Rs. 21 crore, followed by Rajat Pundir at Rs. 11 crore, and uncapped player Yash Dayal at Rs. 5 crore. RCB currently has Rs. 83 crore left in their purse and they can also make use of three RTM cards at the auctions.
