'Will be pretty cool': Glenn Maxwell eager to bat alongside his 'idol' at Royal Challengers Bangalore

Glenn Maxwell, who was released by Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) after spending several seasons with the franchise has his eyes set on the IPL auction. Maxwell has set his base price at ₹2 crore for the IPL 2021 auction on Thursday, and while teams will be eager to secure the services of the big-hitting Australia, the all-rounder revealed he wouldn't mind going down south and join Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he can play with his 'idol' AB de Villiers.

De Villiers has been with RCB since 2011, scoring 4178 runs from 141 matches, and with India superstar Virat Kohli already in their ranks, the prospect of the Kohli, de Villiers and Maxwell trio excited the Australian batsman.

"That'll be awesome. AB [is] one of my idols and one of the guys I've always tried to watch the way he goes about [things]," Maxwell was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "It'll be awesome to work with him, and he's always been really helpful to me along the journey. Whenever I've caught up with him, he's been brilliant. So to be able to work with him first hand will be pretty cool."

Kohli and De Villiers are one of the IPL's most dangerous batting duo and have been involved in some of the most terrific and match-winning partnerships for the franchise over the years. Kohli and Maxwell have shared a cordial bond over the years, and of provided the opportunity, the Australia all-rounder is more than open to the idea of working under the RCB skipper.

"I get along with Virat pretty well. It'll be certainly nice to work under Virat and will certainly enjoy batting with him - that's for sure," Maxwell added.

Besides representing Punjab Kings, where the batsman has found most of his IPL success, Maxwell has represented Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils) and Mumbai Indians in the past. And even though Maxwell could not get a long run or more opportunities for either franchise, he has no regrets or complains. Maxwell has no bad blood towards PK, who let him go after a torrid season that saw him score 108 runs from 13 matches in IPL 2020 last year.

"I suppose to have the luck to go back there [for] most years has been awesome for my cricket. It's been great to have the experience of playing around the best players in the world and learn from different teams as well," Maxwell said.

"We've had different coaches - Punter [Ricky Ponting at Capitals], Sanjay Bangar, [Virender] Sehwag [both at Kings XI] - and it's been awesome. People ask me if my cricket would be different if I didn't go for that [IPL], but I have no idea. But I don't think it would because I don't feel I've changed too much as a person."