"Retaining him was a big gamble, there is no doubt about it" - Wasim Jaffer on KKR's decision to retain Andre Russell in IPL 2022
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer feels retaining Andre Russell was a huge gamble by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The Caribbean all-rounder's injury issues continued to haunt him as he appeared to bowl gingerly during the defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Despite recurring injury concerns, KKR chose to retain him as their first-choice retention pick ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL). The 33-year-old suffered a blow to his shoulder while trying to save a boundary but stepped up to bowl the final over in the match against RCB.
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Opining that the Knight Riders took a huge risk by retaining the explosive Jamaican, Wasim Jaffer said on ESPN Cricinfo:
"Retaining him was a big gamble, there is no doubt about it. Because you don't know with his fitness whether he can bowl at the full tilt. Batting wise there is no question about it, but the only worry is whether he can bowl and can he bowl with the same pace and energy."
He added:
"What I got from the last game was that he was limbering up in his last two overs, so that is going to be a big question mark. "
The 33-year-old looked close to his fearsome best while batting in the first innings, scoring three sixes in his brief cameo of 25 runs. However, he went for 36 runs in his 2.2 overs in a low-scoring encounter.
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"KKR retaining Andre Russell is a no-brainer in my eyes" - Chris Lynn
However, Russell's former KKR teammate Chris Lynn backed the franchise's decision to keep a hold of the player. The hard-hitting Australian opener was a part of the two-time champions from 2014 to 2019, before departing to join the Mumbai Indians.
Terming Russell as the best all-rounder in the world, Lynn said:
"KKR retaining him is a no-brainer in my eyes. I believe he is the number one all-rounder in the world. You do take a gamble each time with his fitness and just because of the nature of the beast, he is so powerful, so he is going to be a little sore and back-to-back games might be a little tight for him but when it is crunch time, Dre Russ is 100 percent fit."
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48 hours after their gruelling defeat to RCB on Wednesday, the Shreyas Iyer-led side will take the field to face Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, according to the IPL schedule.