IPL similar to a World Cup on a smaller scale: Glenn Maxwell

Australia all-rounder and one of the biggest stars of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Glenn Maxwell is looking forward to playing in the league. With the T20 World Cup which was supposed to take place in Australia in October-November this year postponed by the ICC due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is only a matter of time before BCCI comes up with a revised schedule of IPL using the same window. The pandemic situation, however, might not allow India to host the tournament at home. In that case, UAE is the frontrunner to get the hosting rights of the tournament.

Terming IPL a tournament which is at par with the standards of the World Cup, Maxwell said the overseas players participating in it 'get a hell of a kick' playing in it.

"The overseas guys get a hell of a kick playing in it, some of the best players in the world rubbing shoulders, similar to a World Cup, but on a smaller scale. If everything gets ticked off I would love to be available for it," Maxwell was quoted as saying by the Australian media.

Maxwell was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping 10.75 crores in the auction that took place in December last year. This will be his second stint with KXIP and in fact, he had made name for himself when the tournament's first leg was hosted in the UAE in 2014 due to the general elections in India.

"You wait and see (with the IPL), waiting on the judgments of other people, what you can and can't do with travel and quarantine times and all that, if everything gets ticked off there I have no real reason not to go," said Maxwell.

Maxwell also expressed his disappointment at the World Cup being postponed.

"Any time you have a home World Cup you are certainly looking forward to it. We felt like we had been building towards it as a T20 side," he said.

The hard-hitting all-rounder, who was named in the Australian 26-man squad for the England limited-overs series, said he has remained in contact with national coach Justin Langer

"To be home was a bit of a luxury at this time of the year. I've actually had a great time, freshened up the batteries and the mind as well," he said

"I was always mentally getting myself ready for this time of year when there would potentially be cricket back on.

"I haven't been thinking about where we are going to end u or who we are going to be playing. It was about getting my game ready, my body ready, and making sure I was ready for any series."