IPL is a ‘good lead-in' for T20 World Cup, says Maxwell; Pant to continue as captain of Delhi

SYDNEY: Australian Glenn Maxwell, who will represent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, has said that the lucrative T20 league will be good preparation for the T20 World Cup that immediately follows it.

“I think it’s a really good lead-in for the guys who are going to be over there,” Maxwell was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday. “To be able to train in those facilities and acclimatize, it’s going to be hot and to have that extra month there I think it will be valuable for those guys,” he added.

Maxwell skipped the white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh in July and August alongside Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis and David Warner. They will be featuring in the remainder of the IPL 2021 that takes place in the UAE from Sept.19 to Oct.15.

The IPL will be followed by the T20 World Cup in the UAE itself from Oct.17 to Nov.14.

The 32-year-old explained the reason behind missing the tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh and playing IPL.

“The thought of going into another hard bubble was just really hard for people,” said Maxwell.

“Speaking to the guys that have just come back from Bangladesh and West Indies, they got the question put to them ‘if you had another tour in three weeks what would you think?’ and they understood why we took that time off,” he said further.

“It’s not easy going from the hard bubble into a two-week quarantine and then straight back into a hard bubble.

“That really takes its toll on some of the players.”