Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission takes down its appeal to extend Andre Russell’s ban

Andre Russell, the Jamaican all-rounder was handed a one-year suspension earlier this year for his failure to file the required paperwork on his presence for drug testing thrice in 2015. This accordingly to World Anti-Doping Authority rules constituted a failed test. The Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) appealed against the one-year suspension and were instead asking for a two-year suspension. However, it is learnt that the appeal has been withdrawn.

Due to the ban, Russell who has been a match winner for KKR missed the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. His absence from the KKR outfit was a huge blow since he was the most valuable player of the team in the previous two editions. Kolkata have been struggling to build runs in the death overs due to the Jamaican’s absence, but have made up for the deficit by acquiring the runs from the top order, especially Sunil Narine who has been batting as an opener and firing on all cylinders.

In the meantime, Russell has been enjoying his team off the field and focusing on other things. He will be making his singing debut this year. Hindustan Times quoted him as saying, “It is true that I will be debuting as a singer this year. Since I’m not playing cricket currently, I thought it would make sense to utilise my time and resources more constructively. And that’s when I came up with the idea of putting together a single.”

Andre also expressed his wish to cast Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra or Deepika Padukone in his music album video.

“I will be visiting India in April to see if I can rope in a Bollywood actress to feature in the video, apart from meeting all my cricketer friends. I’d love to feature Deepika Padukone or Priyanka Chopra in it,” he said.