IPL 2021: Andre Russell's reckless strokeplay hurting KKR badly
While Andre Russell is one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, his reckless strokeplay has let the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) down on multiple occasions over the last few Indian Premier League (IPL) games.
In KKR's first game of IPL 2021 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Russell walked in at No. 4 with his team comfortably placed at 146/2. SRH captain David Warner had only one over of his best bowler, Rashid Khan, up his sleeve.
The only reasonable thing to do was to play Rashid out and feast on the other bowlers, who had been expensive until that point. Warner still had to get one over out of either Mohammad Nabi or Vijay Shankar, with Sandeep Sharma having leaked runs at an alarming rate.
Andre Russell did seem to think along the same lines. After playing defensive shots for the duration of two deliveries, his patience ran out.
Russell played an unconvincing hoick down the ground, getting it nowhere near the middle and finding long-on, where Manish Pandey plucked a stunner. KKR were once again let down by the carelessness of their biggest match-winner, although they cruised to a win thanks to the 32-year-old's heroics at the death with the ball and captain Eoin Morgan's smart bowling changes.
Andre Russell made the same mistakes in IPL 2020
Russell came into the IPL 2020 edition on the back of his best-ever season in the league. He was expected to put in performances worthy of another MVP award. But he never really got going in the tournament, finishing with just 117 runs in 10 games at an average of 13 in an injury-hit campaign.
In his first game of the IPL 2020 edition, Russell was castled by Bumrah trying to play a ridiculous slog. KKR lost by 49 runs as the rest of the batting lineup folded, capitulating from 100/4 before Russell's dismissal to 146/9.
The second game saw him find a fielder in the deep off the bowling of Ankit Rajpoot. In the third match, against the Delhi Capitals, he played yet another bewildering shot. Coming in to bat at No. 4, Russell holed out to Anrich Nortje while attempting a pull, despite having taken the pacer for a boundary and a six in the same over.
The pattern repeated itself quite often in IPL 2020. Andre Russell fell to Bumrah once again in the same season. He also fell to T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur, both of whom were their respective teams' strike bowlers.
The result? KKR failed to qualify for the playoffs despite a late resurgence under Morgan.
Andre Russell must curb his attacking instincts when needed
Andre Russell's natural game shouldn't be inhibited, but he needs to understand the value of playing out the opposition's best bowler. There's no need to dispatch every single ball out of the ground, and a little caution would go a long way in helping the all-rounder replicate his IPL 2019 heroics.
Russell has been backed to the hilt by KKR management, and he's repaid them with two MVP awards and multiple match-winning performances. But he needs to tailor his batting style, especially if he wants to bat higher up in the order for the team.
Andre Russell strikes fear in opposition hearts. He almost always ensures that the captain saves one or two overs of his best bowler for him. The only thing he needs to do to get back into form is take a single and leave the rest of the over to be played by his partner, or take calculated risks without attempting to hit every delivery for six runs.
Andre Russell's free-spiritedness is certainly an enviable quality, but KKR need him to bat with a tinge of sensibility. The big-hitting batsman must voluntarily shackle himself to singles and doubles against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, who he'll face today as KKR take on the Mumbai Indians.