It was a season to forget for Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Glenn Maxwell who couldn’t rise up to the occasion for the franchise. RCB were knocked out by Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator contest on Wednesday, with Maxwell incurring a golden duck. The Australian all-rounder was shown no mercy by former cricketers and fans who asked some tough questions from him over his repeated failures in the league. After a string of poor performances in the first half of IPL, Maxwell even decided to take an indefinite break from the league, but the absence of other overseas stars like Phil Salt, prompted the Aussie star’s return.

Against Rajasthan, Maxwell was given the task of accelerating RCB’s scoring rate after the dismissals of key players like Virat Kohli and Cameron Green. But, Maxwell was undone on the first ball he faced from Ravichandran Ashwin.

Seeing Maxwell depart on the first ball, former India all-rounder posted on X (formerly Twitter): “What was Maxwell doing?”

What was maxwell doing?

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 22, 2024

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who was fulfilling commentary duty at that time, lambasted Maxwell on-air.

“What on earth was that from Glenn Maxwell?,” Pietersen remarked on air. “This is a huge game, you need your biggest players to perform, you need to give yourself a chance. That from Glenn Maxwell isn’t good enough.”

Even fans resorted to memes to express their frustration at Maxwell, criticising the marquee player’s shockingly poor show this season.

Glenn Maxwell pic.twitter.com/YNQcSUSXlU

— Desi Bhayo (@desi_bhayo88) May 22, 2024

Maxwell again today #RCBvsRR #RRvsRCB #ViratKohli #maxwell #IPL2024Playoff pic.twitter.com/4dbQzo5GOp

— QAZI (@koini007) May 22, 2024

Virat Kohli with Glen Maxwell in the dressing room pic.twitter.com/lHlgMmalGg

— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) May 22, 2024

RCB fans Maxwell ke piche : pic.twitter.com/F70n0vQIu0

— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) May 22, 2024

42 years old retired Dhoni in IPL 2024:

11 innings

161 runs

53 ave

220.5 SR.

HARCB blood maxwell in this IPL:

9 inns

52 runs

5.78 ave

121 S/R pic.twitter.com/JQSYXBk4UT

— RK (@MahiGOAT07) May 23, 2024

Maxwell wasn’t just poor with the bat against Rajasthan but also disappointed in the field, putting down an important catch Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Maxwell was retained by RCB ahead of IPL 2024 auction for a fee of INR 11 crore. Going by his form, it would be a surprise if RCB decide to retain him ahead of next year’s mega auction.