Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) skipper George Bailey believes his teammate Glenn Maxwell will come into his own this season in the IPL, despite the Australian's obvious struggles. Maxwelll has only managed to score 62 runs in the six innings that he has played for KXIP in IPL 2015.
Bailey feels that Maxwell has disappointed himself in this edition of the IPL after having a brilliant World Cup in Australia. He scored 324 runs in just six innings at an average of 64.80 during the World Cup. In the last season of the IPL, Maxwell was one of the key players, propelling KXIP to the final. He scored 552 runs with the bat for KXIP in IPL 2014.
"I think it is the outside world that puts more pressure on him rather than anything else," said Bailey. "I am sure he will do far better in the coming games. He absolutely has disappointed himself.
"The other thing about Maxi is that he plays a unique brand of cricket and sometimes it does not come off as we would like.
"He's come from the World Cup and it took a while for him to adapt. Conditions are different in India and Australia."
Bailey also feels if Kings XI play positive cricket in their upcoming matches they can still make it to the playoffs, which looks bleak after Mumbai defeated them by 23 runs in their last game. It is only possible if the teams above them lose by bigger margins, with KXIP having to win all their remaining games by huge margins as well to improve their net run rate.
"We are disappointed. But we have the team to turn it around. This is a unique competition. You can chose your teams and then go about it. We have not got the right combination. It can happen to any team. There is still plenty to play for and we hope to still make it," Bailey said.
Bailey also blamed his top order which has not clicked at all during this edition of the IPL. "Our top order batting failure has been the worry for us. The bowling has been pretty good. Last year, bowling was our weakest link. It is disappointing as far as the batting is concerned, but I am confident it will come good," added Bailey.
