Mercurial Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been named as captain of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 5.
Maxwell takes over the role from Indian Test opener Murali Vijay, who was appointed captain midway through the last season.
The franchise confirmed the news on its official Twitter account.
Maxwell first played in the IPL as part of the Delhi Daredevils in 2012.
Kings XI had dropped David Miller as captain in favour of Vijay after the side had lost five of their first six games in 2016, reports ESPNcricinfo.
The mercurial all-rounder, known for his power hitting particularly, in the T20 format for Australia, has never captained in the 338 matches he has played across formats and has been picked for the role ahead of Eoin Morgan, who led England to the World T20 final in 2016, and Darren Sammy, who captained West Indies to two T20 World Cup titles.
The 28-year-old has performed exceedingly well in the last two seasons of the IPL, managing 324 runs in 22 matches with only two fifties.
Kings XI will start their campaign against Rising Pune Supergiant on April 8 in Indore, their second home venue after Mohali.