However, with his dipping form, he was dropped from Tests again in favour of Shaun Marsh. He retained his spot for the final Test against India and the subsequent tour to Bangladesh as well. On the tour to India in 2017, Maxwell was handed a Test comeback in Ranchi and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring an uncharacteristically patient maiden Test hundred and securing a draw for Australia. He was picked after that and had some underwhelming outings with just one fifty in 5 innings. Maxwell had a torrid time in the first-class cricket in 2016/17, as his attempted move to New South Wales was rejected and he was controversially dropped from the Victorian side for the opening game of the Sheffield Shield. He continued to torment Sri Lanka, lacing 145 off 65 balls in a T20I at Pallekelle, the second highest score of all-time in T20Is. Maxwell responded in kind by contributing handsomely, scoring 324 runs in the World Cup at an average of 64.80 and an unprecedented strike-rate of 182. He had a dip in form towards the end of 2014, but was retained for the 2015 World Cup, with the selectors taking a giant leap of faith. Now a mainstay in Australia's limited-overs side, Maxwell continued to play the roll of the quintessential bits-and-pieces cricketer. He was fast becoming a nightmare for the captains in the IPL and with the boundary ropes pulled in, the big man was mis-hitting blows off the edge, beyond the rope. He was transferred to Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 edition, and struck form immediately, scoring 7 fifties in the tournament, including 3 scores in the nineties. In the upcoming IPL, however, the Big Show was the talk of the town, having signed with the Mumbai Indians for $1 million. Once again, he failed to make an impression with the bat and was subsequently dropped. After Australia lost the Mohali Test, Maxwell was given another opportunity in the final test in Delhi. However, he was subsequently dropped for the third Test in Mohali, where Xavier Doherty was given a chance. He failed to impressed with the bat but took four in an innings with the ball. Maxwell continued to be impressive in the limited-overs format, and was finally handed the prized Baggy Green for the second Test against India at Hyderabad in 2013. However, with the backing of excellent domestic form and some useful performances in International cricket, along with his handy off-spin bowling, he was picked in the squad for the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. However, he remained a fringe player and didn't manage to cement his spot in the side. He had some good all-round outings, playing the jack-of-all-trades role for Australia, including a 56 against Pakistan in his 2nd ODI. Maxwell was handed an ODI and T20I debut, owing to his consistent limited-over performances in the domestic circuit. He followed this up with some now-familiar violent performances in the emerging players tournament and tormented the Indian and South African sides with some fearsome hitting, scoring 59 off 23 against India and 110 off 52 against South Africa. ![]() Unconventional may be an understatement to describe Maxwell's unorthodoxy however, he rose through the ranks in conventional fashion and shot to instant fame when the 22-year old rookie clubbed his way to the fastest fifty in domestic One-Day history in the Ryobi Cup. And yet, when he fails to pull 'em off, our hearts sink the day wouldn't be as exciting as it could have been if Maxwell got going. ![]() Audio and text commentators' jobs hang by a fickle thread as he pulls off some indescribable shots. A fielding captain's nightmare, the Big Show pulls off the shots of our wildest dreams with utmost swagger and gusto. The twist is that the said response may not necessarily be a shot that has ever been witnessed on a cricket field. Making use of his athleticism and quick responses, Maxwell revolutionized the modern limited-overs game with the ability to let his instincts guide his responses to the ball. With the Sehwag-esque ability to enthrall as well as exasperate, Glenn Maxwell blurred the line copy-book and agricultural, pulling off unorthodoxy with ease and fluency.
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