Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The explosive all-rounder of Kolkata Knight Riders, Andre Russell has had it quite tough in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League thus far. The performances with the bat have been far from ideal for Russell as he is able to score only 108 runs in 8 matches at a subpar average of 18, plus he hasn’t bowled much in the tournament owing to his recurring knee issue. Meanwhile, his team KKR haven’t set the stage alight in the current edition of the IPL with just 3 wins in 8 matches till now. Even then, the Jamaican-born West Indies star has continued to be a valuable addition to the Kolkata franchise.
Recently, in a chat with Star Sports, Andre Russell talked about how Kolkata Knight Riders and its owners have helped him take care of his body in recent years, while comparing it with lack of effort put by Cricket West Indies (CWI) administration for the same. He said, “Where I was, a few years ago, KKR actually make things happen for me where they send me to get proper treatments on my knees. That's something special to me to be honest. No other franchise or even my country never really invest that much on me.”
In 2019, Andre Russell got knee surgery and afterwards, he missed a lot of cricket for both his country and franchise teams all over the world due to constant issues in his knees. Just a few months ago, he had a fallout with CWI owing to lack of respect shown to his franchise T20 commitments. Furthermore, Russell hasn’t played international cricket for the West Indies since the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The 35-year old also stated his love for Kolkata Knight Riders and expressed his desire to play for them until the end of his IPL career. “I’m happy here (at KKR). I don't see any other franchise I would love to be a part of in this tournament because I've been here for about 9 years now. Been here for so many years, I meet these guys, get closer to them every year. When cricket isn't there, I'm still in communication with Mr Venky (Mysore). I look up to him, I really respect him,” added Russell.
