Maxwell ‘can be Virat Kohli’: Langer

DUBAI: Glenn Maxwell can be as good as Virat Kohli if he continues to ally newfound discipline and purpose to the talent he has demonstrated for a long time, Australia's coach Justin Langer has said.

Ahead of the final ODI between Australia and Pakistan in Dubai, Langer delivered the bold call when queried about how Maxwell had improved over the course of the season, from a time when he seemed uncertain of his place in any team to now winning the coach's respect for how he had contributed to both the T20I and ODI teams.

For Langer, the next step for 30-year-old Maxwell is to maintain the sort of consistency he has shown in the UAE series, as epitomised by Kohli's near universal presence at the top of global batting aggregates year in and year out.

"He can be Virat Kohli. He has got the talent to do that," Langer said. "The way he played that T20 hundred in India, the way he played both T20s - we know he's a great T20 player. His next challenge is to become a great ODI player and then potentially a Test player.

"So there's huge upside for him and while he keeps practicing with the purpose he's got and winning games of cricket like he is, it's great to have him. It's obviously a massive challenge, isn't it? He is now 30 years old and he's played 99 games, but we all see it - and everyone talks about it - he's got a huge amount of talent and his challenge has always been to deliver on that talent. And he's done it in patches."

One of the critical messages Langer delivered to Maxwell last year surrounded training with purpose, after the all-rounder had previously been seen as a somewhat wayward talent. "I think he's put a lot of emphasis into his practice as well. He's practising with real purpose and he's getting the rewards for that. It's great to see," Langer said.

Langer also offered strong words of praise for the captain Aaron Finch, who has shrugged off an earlier run of failures by returning to form in India and then following up to telling effect in the UAE.

"Finchy is doing a great job. He's getting better all the time," Langer said. "He would have taken confidence out of the Big Bash final as well. As a captain you've got to live it, you've got to have those really positive experiences. He's just growing. He's doing a really good job. He's obviously batting well and he's doing a really good job.