'If He Can't Perform..', Nitish Rana Issues Statement On 'Out-Of-Form' Andre Russell
Andre Russell has had a horrendous season with the bat [Source: AP]
On Friday, two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their second defeat of the ongoing season, as they were handed a 23-run drubbing by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Batting first, SRH posted a massive score of 228 runs, thanks to a scintillating ton from Harry Brook, and later defended it to secure their second consecutive victory in the tournament.
Speaking of KKR, while N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh contributed significantly, the other core members failed to fire on a batters' paradise. More importantly, KKR's trump card, Andre Russell, departed for just three runs, letting his team down for yet another time in the tournament.
However, after the game concluded, KKR skipper Nitish Rana backed the legendary West Indies all-rounder to regain his mojo in the upcoming fixtures.
As quoted by Sportskeeda, Rana also reverberated how Russell's all-round skillset is an asset for the team, highlighting his sensational bowling spell, the only positive thing for the home side with the ball last night.
Here's what Rana stated
"Russell is one of the biggest all-rounders in T20 cricket for us. If he can’t perform with the bat, I know he’ll perform with the ball, which he did today [Friday] In four games, I gave him the ball first time today and he got two wickets early,
"It (failures) happens. It’s not like if Russell is there only he will score runs. If that happens then really good, but we know his caliber and 100 percent he will deliver."
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With two victories in four outings, KKR are placed fourth in the IPL 2023 standings and will take on Mumbai Indians in their fifth group-stage fixture on Sunday.
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