Andre Russell is my role model, want to have same impact as him: Ramandeep Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Ramandeep Singh has been rewarded for his impressive exploits in domestic cricket tournaments, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), as he received a maiden call-up to the Indian team for the T20I series against South Africa. The Men in Blue are set to embark on a trip to the Rainbow Nation to play four T20Is next month.

Ramandeep had an excellent IPL 2024 season with the Knights as he played some vital cameos for the Shreyas Iyer-led side and contributed significantly in the title-winning campaign. He shared the dressing room with his "role model", Andre Russell, who has been an integral part of KKR for several years. The Punjab all-rounder hopes to make a Russell-like impact for the national team.

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"As an all-rounder myself, my role model is Andre Russell. I want to have the same impact as him. When I go to the crease, there should be fear in the opposition that I will take the game away. I want to create that kind of impact for India," he was quoted as saying by India Today.

The 27-year-old revealed that KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, who is the current coach of the Indian team, arranged 30-minute range-hitting sessions for him and Russell would be there to help him improve his game.

"Gautam sir planned 30-minute range-hitting sessions, and Russell made sure he was with me. His insights helped me a lot during the IPL," Ramandeep revealed.

"He is very powerful, but he also follows the basics. He has a strong base, a still head, and a full swing of the hands. He makes sure he perfects these fundamentals during those range-hitting sessions. From the outside, we think he just muscles every ball out of the park, but it’s his clarity with the basics that allows him to hit those sixes," he explained.

I was Gautam sir's favourite cricketer in KKR: Ramandeep Singh

Ramandeep recalled that Gambhir told him he is his favourite cricketer in the KKR team and promised to back him throughout the tournament. The Chandigarh-born was given a specific role in the team and he always tried to perform beyond expectations.

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"Gautam sir told me, ‘You are my favourite cricketer in this team, and I will back you throughout the tournament. You should never play with fear’,” Ramandeep recalled. "I was given a clear role about what the team expected from me. I told myself that I had to perform extraordinarily to catch everyone’s attention."