Wanted! An Andre Russell That Can Return to But Ways Of Scoring And Rather, Urgently So!
Andre Russell is yet to score big in the IPL 2023 [Source: AP]
With three single-digit scores, one duck and an overall highest score of 38 not out, this just hasn’t been Andre Russell’s season in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League.
It’s not that the talent has waned out much too sudden, it’s clearly the case of the famous hitter being too intent at playing a huge stroke or not showing much intent at all.
In some cases, that does make Andre Russell an Andre Russell; an all or nothing player who lives by the sword but also perishes by it, but yet, it leaves a lot to be desire for a side looking for the winning mantra and that strand of consistency.
All of which have been elusive so far!
The kind of Russell power that the Kolkata Knight Riders so desperately need is what was clearly visible in that rather stunning contest against David Warner’s Delhi Capitals, where the runs just didn’t seem to come and had dried off god knows how or why.
In the end, during the first inning with Kolkata batting, it all came down to Andre Russell and his big hitting shoulders; resultantly, Delhi earned the ire of the big hitting Jamaican, as four lanky sixes were fired without much ado.
The on side fence was simply used for leather hunting as the fielders scrambled here and there collecting the white ball sent everywhere, whether the deep square leg or the deep mid wicket boundary.
Alas, that has only been one of the few, rather rare occasions where the bowlers seemed wary of the Russell challenge.
On the whole, Andre Russell is perhaps just a shade of the brute force he once was.
Picture the days with Yusuf Pathan harassing the bowlers in conjunction with the deadly Jamaican.
Forget not the days when together with his captain Gautam Gambhir, Andre Russell would exert the full force of his brute bat over bowlers who were, quite simply, second to none.
Russell has had a forgettable IPL 2023 so far [Source: AP]
Frankly speaking, the Andre Russell that the KKR ensemble don’t at all need is the bloke who got out playing a whacked out shot that never really was in their offing and on just the second ball of his inning against Rashid Khan in the contest versus the Gujarat Titans.
With nearly four overs to go from which an imposing 50 more were needed, very tricky but not impossible, who knows what might Russell have achieved had he just wafted around the ground collecting ones and twos against Rashid.
Is this latest version of Andre Russell keen on planning his innings?
In a game where defence is the best form of attack, one realises well that Russell, quite simply changed the narrative by tinkering with cricket’s rather conservative template.
In his books, attack was the best form of defence and his burly presence and towering personality did really compel the bowlers, particularly the faster ones, to pitch it right in the slot to him.
The end result was what we see a David Miller do to bowlers of all kind and make.
But then, batters like Miller, one could argue, plan their innings, they probe the gaps and even take their time initially to set in.
Can Russell, as the IPL approaches its halfway stage, pick a trick or two from another familiar badger of the white ball?
Make no mistake- he’s only been able to last for 76 deliveries so far. So, it ought to be stated that a desperately out of form Andre Russell poses a huge challenge at an order where only Iyer, Rana and Rinku Singh are providing the much needed runs.
Singh does get a chance to put on a whack but usually speaking, by the time his chance arrives, the lion’s share of the overs are dusted.
What if Venkatesh Iyer cannot continue his blazing run of form and that Jason Roy, who’s only just arrived cannot put on the big runs?
Do Kolkata still rely on the redoubtably talented but lacklustre Andre Russell or is a surprising return to form on the cards?
Perhaps this and more will play on the mind of Nitish Rana as the side prepare to tackle the Bangalore challenge up ahead!
 "Dev Tyagi")
