‘We never spoke again’: Maxwell reveals clash with Sehwag during IPL

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has revealed that his relationship with former India opener Virender Sehwag soured during their time at Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2017.

In his book, “The Showman”, Maxwell has written what transpired during IPL 2017 when he captained Kings XI Punjab and Sehwag was the franchise’s director of cricket operations.

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According to Maxwell, Sehwag was the man who was running the show and not the coaches.

Three years earlier, in IPL 2014, Maxwell and Sehwag were teammates at Punjab. The side had reached the final and lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Sehwag 'picked starting XI'

“When it came to selection, I thought it might be a good idea to bring the coaches into a WhatsApp group to make our decisions. Everyone agreed to this and shared their teams, with the exception of Sehwag. At the end of the process, he made it clear that he would pick the starting XI, end of story. We were losing on and off the field by now, with Sehwag on more than one occasion making decisions that didn't necessarily make sense,” Maxwell wrote in his book, the excerpt of which was published on espncricinfo.

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Further, Maxwell wrote how he wanted to do the press conference after Punjab lost to Rising Pune Supergiant and were knocked out of the tournament. Punjab were bowled out for their lowest total – 73, against Pune, on May 14, 2017. Maxwell, batting at six, was dismissed for a three-ball duck.

“I volunteered to do press that night, but Sehwag said he would instead. Upon getting onto the team bus, I found I'd been deleted from the main WhatsApp group. What was going on here? By the time we reached the hotel my phone was blowing up, with Sehwag having unloaded on me as a ‘big disappointment’, blaming me for not taking responsibility as captain, and all the rest. It was unpleasant, especially when I thought we had parted on good terms,” wrote Maxwell.

“I texted him to say how much it hurt to read those comments and added that he had lost a fan in me for the way he had conducted himself. Sehwag's response was simple: ‘Don’t need fan like you’. We never spoke again. I knew my time was at an end and told the owners as much: if Sehwag was going to stick around, they were making a mistake and not to bother with me. He only lasted one more season," he added.

What Sehwag said in 2017

After that defeat to Pune, Sehwag had said he was disappointed with the foreign players including Maxwell.

"I'm very disappointed. I can say that none of the foreign players took responsibility and at least played 12 to 15 overs. Their role was at least one of the top four should bat for 12 to 15 overs, but none of the batsmen took the responsibility.

"We always knew that when Maxwell fires, then he can win the match on his own. But he didn't fire in eight or nine games. That is a big disappointment, especially since he's experienced, having played for Australia's Test and ODI teams. He didn't take the responsibility as a captain and didn't perform for Kings XI Punjab," Sehwag said.

Besides Maxwell, Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh and Eoin Morgan were the overseas players that played that game against Pune. In IPL 2017, Punjab finished fifth with 14 points and failed to make the playoffs.