PLAYER DIARY
Follow UsIn Gennaro Gattuso’s words, life in the Maroon jersey for Andre Russell was “Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe sh*t”
Two years ago, just months before the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, Cricket West Indies (CWI) dropped a bombshell.
“We are not convinced yet, and he’s not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition. I think the situation with Andre Russell, we’ve just decided to move on,” West Indies’ then chief selector Desmond Haynes said.
Read: Andre Russell and West Indies – a marriage that never took off
Look at that statement carefully. West Indies had decided to move on from their generational talent, Andre Russell. Russell’s love-hate relationship with CWI and the fans had gone a long way in the past. But what made that statement stellar was that ‘he’s not performing as well’ as they would have hoped.
Now fathom this: In 67 T20I appearances at that time, the all-rounder had scored just one fifty and averaged a low 19.50 while donning the Maroon jersey. He wasn’t good either with the ball, as Russell averaged 34.97, conceding runs at 9.18 every over.
Several West Indian cricket fans had even expressed their displeasure with the all-rounder, stating they have zero respect for him because he gives more to franchise cricket than the national team. But here’s the nasty truth: when Russell is fully fit, no one in world cricket could even come close to him.
Russell’s comeback journey began at Bridgetown in December 2023 against world champions England. When his first delivery flew for a four, life was unfurling right before Russell.
As he has repeatedly done, he returned to remove Phil Salt. Russell wasn’t done yet. He removed Liam Livingstone and Rehan Ahmed to finish with his best figures—3/19—showing CWI what they missed.
At 123/6, requiring 49 runs in the last five overs, West Indies required Russell’s experience and batting prowess. The 35-year-old came to bat and completely changed the complexion of the run chase, scoring 29 off just 14 balls, smashing two fours and two sixes, with the hosts eventually chasing it down in 18.1 overs.
Russell was back, and things never felt rosier for the Men in Maroon.
Since his comeback, Russell has the second-best T20I strike rate for any batter in world cricket (min 150 runs among top ten teams), scoring 214 runs at 196.3, an impact next to only Tim David, with 11 sixes at the death, like David.
Unlike previously, he also showed his worth with the ball for the Windies.
Russell picked up 10 wickets with the ball in eight fixtures, removing Salt twice, Jos Buttler and Marcus Stoinis once. That’s one of the hallmarks of the Windies all-rounder: his ability to remove the big dogs. But it still only paints a small picture, given that much of Russell’s appearances came in franchise leagues.
Franchise cricket does mean a lot for Russell, which was evident from his emotions in the aftermath of KKR’s IPL win. A man who has made several bowlers cry cried. That’s how much the franchise meant to him, given that they even took care of him when he was banned.
"No words to explain right now. It means so much with all the fans that have been supporting us throughout the season. We are the players who go game after game and make sure that we get the job done,” Russell said in the aftermath of KKR’s win.
“This franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) has done so much for me, with the fitness and everything. This is a big gift from all of us to them, so I'm happy,” he added further.
Russell was an integral part of KKR’s IPL win after a decade, where he picked up 19 wickets, with eight of those wickets coming in the very first over. It showed what the all-rounder could do - make an immediate impact.
No bowler in the competition’s history had a better strike rate than him (9.3) in a season, showing why Russell’s presence in the Windies setup could be a big boost.
Since his Windies comeback, Russell is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in all T20s with 41 scalps, an average of 23.4 with the ball, and a strike rate of FOURTEEN!! The outrageous element of Russell, the bowler, is his ability to strike in his first over. Of his 41 wickets, 12 have come in the first over of a spell.
Ideally, when someone is as good as Russell with the ball, they aren’t as consistent with the bat. But errrr…..
Russell has been the most EXPLOSIVE BATTER the game has seen. Across 28 T20 innings in that period, the Windies all-rounder has amassed 737 runs, with a staggering strike rate of 201.4.
He’s the only batter in the T20 world in that period to have a strike rate over 200 (min 500 runs). Russell isn’t just scoring runs for fun (average of 43.35). He’s finding boundaries with relative ease - a boundary every 2.3 deliveries, only behind Jake Fraser-McGurk and Travis Head in T20 cricket, all without scoring a duck.
We haven’t even talked about his death over pyrotechnics.
Across 24 innings, Russell strikes at 227.5 at the death, leaps and bounds over several finishers. The world’s best T20 batter - Heinrich Klaasen - is just above Russell in his death-over numbers (230.1 SR), showing why Russell could be the factor that could bind the Windies back as a powerhouse.
Not just that, Russell has even been working on that one factor that has been a huge letdown in his career thus far - fitness. For someone as powerful, the Windies all-rounder’s body is almost like it's made of glass, with a crack just waiting around the corner. But this 2024 IPL has proven he’s no longer fragile.
"Definitely being leaner and lighter is working for my body and it shows in my performance as well. I like watching the UFC. To see those guys looking strong and lean is a motivation for me, so I set myself a goal. I know it is going to help in my cricket - bowling, fielding, and also in my batting,” Russell said earlier in this year’s IPL season.
Russell’s resume still has a big asterisk attached; after starring in their historic 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cup wins, he has yet to show his best side in a global tournament in a Maroon jersey.
The fans are quite unhappy with him picking and choosing international fixtures. Hence, the upcoming T20 World Cup at home couldn’t have come at a better time for the all-rounder. All he has to do is flick that switch and earn the hearts of the fans back.
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