Australian all rounder Glenn Maxwell today replaced Indian batsman Murali Vijay as Kings XI Punjab captain ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 5.

The IPL franchise made the announcement on social media on Thursday. The management has preferred Maxwell over the likes of Eoin Morgan, who captained England to the 2016 World T20 final, and Darren Sammy, who led the West Indies to two World T20 titles.

Maxwell, who is currently in India with the Australian Test squad, had a quiet last two IPL seasons by his standards, scoring 324 runs in 22 games.