“At one point he was told not to bother coming to our game” - Glenn Maxwell claims Ishant Sharma was ignored by Virender Sehwag during IPL 2017

Glenn Maxwell opened up on his soured relationship with Virender Sehwag during IPL 2017 in his book, 'The Showman.' He revealed the story where Ishant Sharma was asked to stay at the hotel after being left out of the XI for the last few games.

Maxwell led the Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) in the 2017 season. However, he revealed that head coach Sehwag dictated the team's changes and never bothered taking suggestions from other members of the side, including him.

Maxwell brought coaches into the same WhatsApp group to make important decisions. All stepped in to share their opinions and team changes, but Sehwag made it clear he would be the one pulling the strings. As per Maxwell, the former Indian batter made some decisions, which didn't make any sense.

Glenn Maxwell disclosed that ahead of the team's clash against Mumbai Indians, Ishant was intimated that he would be out of the XI, and should skip visiting Wankhede Stadium. Nevertheless, the right-arm pacer arrived and bowled in the nets as well.

An excerpt from his book read (via ESPNcricinfo):

"Take poor old Ishant Sharma. At one point he was told not to bother coming to our game that day in Mumbai, having not been picked in a while. We had several other local bowlers, plus the Kiwi quick Matt Henry had just come into the side. Doing the right thing, Ishant did a gym session and came along anyway, bowling at full pace in the warm-up."

Maxwell further claimed that Eoin Morgan was set to play the game ahead of Matt Henry, but the Englishman protested Henry's exclusion, as the Kiwi pacer had played only a solitary game. As a result, Virender Sehwag included both Henry and Ishant in the XI.

"Then Eoin Morgan was told that he would be a new inclusion that day, taking the last overseas player spot from Matt. Morgs protested that it wasn't fair to drop Matt after only playing one game, so they rejigged again, left out Morgs, and both Henry and Ishant played," Maxwell added.

The game saw Wriddhiman Saha (93* off 55) and Glenn Maxwell (47 off 21) playing impressive knocks to lift Punjab's total to 230. In response, Mumbai fell short by seven runs. Henry conceded 40 runs off two overs, while Ishant conceded 29 off his three, with both bowlers returning wicket-less.

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How did Glenn Maxwell fare for Punjab Kings in the IPL?

Punjab Kings secured the services of Glenn Maxwell in the IPL 2014 auction. The season saw Maxwell win the 'Player of the Tournament' award and help the team emerge as the runner-up. He slammed 552 runs at a sensational strike rate of 187.75, with four fifties.

However, the following two seasons witnessed Maxwell return with less than 330 runs combined. In 2017, he improved his form to contribute 310 runs at a strike rate of 173.18.

After playing a solitary season with the Delhi Capitals in 2018 and opting out of the IPL in 2019, Glenn Maxwell returned to PBKS in 2020, managing only 108 runs in 13 games. As a result, he was released from the squad.

Overall, the right-hander garnered 1,294 runs in 65 innings for the Punjab Kings at a strike rate of 159.25, with six fifties.