IPL 2024: 'He's going to win games for us', RCB batting coach Neil McKenzie backs Glenn Maxwell amid lean run

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) batting coach Neil McKenzie is confident that star Australia batter Glenn Maxwell will soon discover his old form again in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. Maxwell, who scored 400 runs in the 2023 season, has managed just three runs this season so far, having faced six deliveries.

The Aussie big hitter had scored as many as five fifties last season. In the season opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Maxwell was dismissed for a first-ball duck.

“You know, that's cricket. It's up and down. It's only two games. We know with Maxie, he's going to win us a couple of games.”

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“He has made a slower start to the tournament, but we know that he's going to win games for us later on in the tournament,” McKenzie said in the pre-match press conference.

“It's not a case of when that will happen. You're still in early stages (of IPL). In the high-octane T20 cricket, you know, your fortunes change pretty quickly, you know, they change overnight,” he added.

The former South African batsman was also delighted to see premier batter Virat Kohli making a match-winning fifty against Punjab here a couple of days ago.

“Virat has been an unbelievable performer for so long. It was a privilege to sit and watch (his fifty). I think just the way he sums up conditions, the way he sort of knows who's going to bowl what he has been one of our if not the best batter for a very long time.”

“So, it was really good to see him hitting the ground running and play a really important knock for the side after that two months of no cricket. So, you can always trust him to put the team first”, said McKenzie.

McKenzie said the good outings of Indian batters like Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat and Mahipal Lomror have given RCB a lot more confidence and flexibility, without taking the responsibility away from top-order players.

With PTI inputs