Injured Andre Russell trolled after he opts out of India series and features in GLT20 Canada

For the last few months, Andre Russell has been in the limelight quite a bit. The star West Indian all-rounder took the world by storm when he was smoking sixes for fun in the IPL. He was single-handedly turning games for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Russell then went on to play for West Indies in the World Cup. He blew hot and cold throughout the World Cup. While he was good with the ball, his shot selection was in question with the bat. He consistently threw his wicket away after getting a start and it hurt West Indies quite a bit. Moreover, the hard-hitting Jamaican all-rounder faced issues with his knee throughout the tournament. Yet, he played with constant pain.

However, constant knee troubles ruled him out midway through. Thus, he returned to cricketing action after a month when he turned out to play for the Vancouver Knights in the Global T20 Canada. He didn’t bat or bowl in his first game of the tournament. However, almost a week after that, the 31-year-old all-rounder pulled out of the T20I series against India after he experienced some discomfort during his first game for the Knights.

Thus, he conveyed his unavailability to the West Indies selectors. However, only a few hours post that, he turned out to play for the Vancouver Knights. He didn’t bowl but came out to bat at No. 5. However, he was out for a first-ball duck but his team got past the winning line.

Carlos Brathwaite defends compatriot Andre Russell

However, West Indies T20I skipper Carlos Braithwaite somewhat defended the star all-rounder and said that he would rather have Russell fit for next year’s World T20 in Australia than pushing him for this series. Also, this is not the first time Russell has done such a thing.

When West Indies toured India and Bangladesh late last year, the pace-bowling all-rounder was deemed injured along with Sunil Narine. However, he turned out to play for a club in the United States. He took part in the US Open Cricket tournament, a T20 competition which took place in Florida’s Central Broward Regional Park. He represented a team named Somerset Cavaliers.

Thus, he was trolled big time after he was seen playing for the Vancouver Knights just hours after making himself unavailable for the West Indies.