Delhi: Such allegations against cricketers that they make some new and sensational revelation to increase the sales of their book is nothing new. Now what Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell wrote about Virender Sehwag in his new book is it something like this or a ‘press war’ in which Sehwag’s reply is awaited. It is not that Glenn Maxwell would not have realized that Sehwag was not going to remain silent.
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This story is from those days when both of them were part of IPL team Kings XI Punjab but in different roles. Glenn Maxwell was the player and Sehwag was the mentor. It was reported that playing in this team was very bad for Maxwell and at that time his relationship with team mentor Virender Sehwag was bad, but no one was saying what actually happened.
Maxwell clearly alleged in the book that Sehwag was abusive and dictatorial and even blamed Sehwag for the team not being able to do much in those years. Everyone knows how captains have been changing in this team in search of the IPL trophy. Glenn Maxwell was also the captain in 2017 and that year the team was very close to reaching the playoffs. Maxwell even says that the bad atmosphere in the dressing room did not allow the team to win.
Maxwell’s book ‘The Showman’ is very much discussed these days and he clearly writes that Sehwag neither accepted any suggestion of the captain nor the other coaches. He even used to choose the playing eleven himself and impose it on the captain, forcing him to play with it. Not only this, he also refused to join the WhatsApp group of players and support staff to avoid discussing any issue. Due to the coach also being in this WhatsApp group, there was good discussion and the players were benefiting but Sehwag did not agree. A new initiative was that on the day of the match, everyone used to choose their own playing eleven but Sehwag did not give any importance to any choice and he used to choose the team himself and the story ended.
According to Maxwell, in 2017, chief coach J Arunkumar was in name only because Sehwag was in charge of everything. Every decision was under his control and when Maxwell confronted him on an issue, he was told that Sehwag ‘doesn’t need a fan like him.’ Then Sehwag even deleted her from his WhatsApp group due to the rift in the relationship. The tension was so high that it had a negative impact on the team. Even the franchise owners turned a deaf ear to Maxwell’s pleas about the mentor’s toxic behaviour. Maxwell did not play for this team after the 2017 season. He now writes that if Virender Sehwag was so right and capable as a mentor, the team owner would not have removed him after one year.
Coincidentally, Maxwell’s form was deteriorating during the 2017 season and the team’s infighting only served to create more problems for him instead of helping him. The team was losing on the field as well as outside the field. It is alleged that Sehwag on many occasions took decisions which were not necessary. On the contrary, he openly criticized the players and the captain.
As an example, the ‘away’ match refers to the last group game against Pune. Batting first on a wet wicket, the Punjab team collapsed for just 73 runs. With this defeat, the chances of playing in the play-offs ended. After the match, Maxwell said that he himself would go in front of the press but Sehwag, stopping him, went himself. By the time he boarded the team bus, action against Maxwell had started. Received a message from the WhatsApp group that he had been removed and on reaching the hotel, found out that in front of the press, Sehwag had accused him of being a ‘big disappointment’, said he did not take responsibility as a captain and blamed him for everything else too.
Maxwell was surprised by all these statements and decided to respond, even if it meant further reprimand. Sehwag’s reply was that I do not need a fan like you. After this both of them never spoke again. Maxwell even crossed his limits and told the team owners that keeping Sehwag with the team would be a big mistake. The Australian all-rounder returned to the Punjab Kings team again in 2020 but Sehwag never. Since 2021, Maxwell has been playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The interesting thing is that Maxwell and Sehwag also played together for the IPL team and after retirement, Sehwag became the mentor of the team. Maxwell used the word ‘poor’ for Ishant Sharma and alleged that Sehwag did not select him and made him play in a match in which he was not even ready to play.