IPL 2021: KKR’s ‘big man’ Andre Russell coming, will he deliver for Kolkata Knight Riders this time?- After months of uncertainty over Andrew Russell’s availability in the IPL 2021, KKR’s new tweet post had ensured that the all-rounder is set to join the squad in the next 24 hours. Taking to Twitter, Kolkata Knight Riders wrote, “Look who’s on a plane to India. See you soon, big man!” sharing a picture of Andre Russell seated on a flight donning a printed mask.
Look who’s on a plane to #India 🇯🇲✈️🇺🇸✈️🇮🇳
See you soon, big man! 💪🏽@Russell12A #KKR #HaiTaiyaar #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/FhkxOo9BJp
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 22, 2021
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Last month when West Indies cricket announced squads for the recently concluded limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, Andre Russell was recovering from COVID-19, which he had contracted in February. He was ruled out of the Cricket West Indies Panel as per protocols. The recovery period should have helped him recover well and provided him enough break ahead of IPL 2021.
Russell has one of the key players for KKR over the last few seasons. Even though Russell was not that fruitful in the previous, he has been phenomenal in his IPL career. In IPL 2019, the West Indies player had smashed 510 runs in 14 matches and scalped 11 wickets. A year ago, he ended up with 316 runs and 13 wickets.
In his IPL career, Russell has played 74 matches and scored 1517 runs and picked 61 wickets, making him one of the most valuable players in the cash-rich league.
Will Andre Russell deliver for KKR in IPL 2019?
The West Indies allrounder had struggled in the IPL 2020 conducted in UAE. Russell managed just 116 runs and 6 wickets in 10 matches (fewer matches due to knee injury). He had last played or Karachi Kings in the IPL where his numbers were quite unimpressive. The 32-year-old needs to perform consistently if KKR wants to win the IPL 2021 title.
With Dinesh Karthik not at his best in the last few IPL editions (169 runs in IPL 2020 and 253 runs in IPL 2018), KKR relies heavily on Andre Russell to finish off innings and set targets on the scorecard.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s inclusion in the squad will boost their batting.
Also Read: IPL 2021: KKR’s Shakib al Hasan blasts Bangladesh Cricket Board, says “no other board holds international matches during IPL”
KKR squad for IPL 2021
Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun CV, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi
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