‘I am back’ – KKR’s Andre Russell back to business after recovering from hamstring injury

Andre Russell has been a fulcrum of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ unit for quite a few years. But he hasn’t had the best of times in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. During the match between KKR and Chennai Super Kings at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, he sustained a hamstring injury after which he has had to sit out of the playing eleven.

As a replacement after KKR opted for the likes of Tim Southee and Tim Seifert, after which they roped in Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. The Tigers’ all-rounder hasn’t let his team down, picking up two wickets at decent economy rates. In the meantime, Russell is all set to make his comeback after the injury layoff. He posted a video on Instagram to send in a strong message.

Andre Russell’s video

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Andre Russell🇯🇲 Dre Russ.🏏 (@ar12russell)

Earlier, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that the Knights shouldn’t include Russell back into the playing eleven if the Jamaican isn’t able to bowl. Gambhir, who captained KKR to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 respectively, said that Shakib hasn’t done anything to face the axe going forward.

The Delhi-born veteran was also of the opinion that KKR can’t afford to “walk on the edge” and depend on part-timers, Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer, for the playoffs.

“No, if he doesn’t bowl, he doesn’t come in. What wrong has Shakib done? For me, if Russell is fit and he’s willing to do deliver in both the departments, batting and bowling, I’d pick him. But if he says that he can only bat and can’t bowl, then I’d probably go with Shakib because you need the sixth bowling option against a batting lineup like RCB,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

In IPL 2021, Russell has scored only 183 runs from 10 matches at an average of 26.14 and a strike rate of 152.50. His top score of a half-century came against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

With the ball in hand, Russell has accounted for 11 wickets at an economy rate of 9.89. On Thursday, KKR beat the Rajasthan Royals by 86 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.