'Dealing with Andre Russell can be tricky' - Michael Vaughan opines on his recent performances

Andre Russell has made his reputation as one of the most brutal hitters of the cricket ball. On his day, the Jamaican can single-handedly take down opposition and there is no target that is beyond his reach.

Although, that Russell who used to hit big ones for fun seems to have gone somewhere. His returns in the IPL have been decreasing, while his big-hitting has not come as often as it once used to.

He got two single-digit scores to start with (5 and 9) and while Russell managed to hit a few from the middle of the bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday (18th April), his knock could not take his side across.

He is obviously someone who cannot go down: Michael Vaughan

Speaking about how handling someone like Russell can be a tricky affair, Michael Vaughan said “When you got player like Andre Russell, who has been a superstar, but on the field, when the ball is coming to him, he is always using his feet. He is obviously someone who cannot go down. It’s a very clever and careful aspect which Eoin Morgan will have to manage,”

“When he is at his best, he is great. But when you see him on the field, and when he is bowling, he appears to be struggling. While batting he is not taking the twos. He needed to take the twos in the 19th over. Because you want him back on strike. Very difficult to manage for Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan,” he added.

“I think in modern-day cricket, you need 9-10 players in a team who are absolutely agile on the field. But when you see KKR on the field, they don’t look electric. It’s a difficult one. How can you leave Russell? But when you look at him on the field, and when he is bowling. It’s a bad look for the team when you got a player who is really struggling with his body,” Vaughan concluded.

KKR lost their last game to RCB by a convincing margin of 38 runs and are set to face Chennai Super Kings on 21st April.