West Indies' Andre Russell is one of the most explosive batsmen in the shortest format of the game. His aggressive batting has steered his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to many memorable victories over the past few years.
In the past three IPL seasons, Russell has had a strike-rate of more than 180 in the tournament, which makes him one of the most explosive batsmen in the world.
Former KKR captain Gautam Gambhir believes that there is one bowler who can trouble the big-hitting Windies star.
“There might be two or three of them in the IPL who could trouble him but not beyond that. I don’t see bowlers other than probably someone like Jasprit Bumrah who can actually trouble Andre Russell,” said Gambhir on Star Sports' Cricket Connected.
“Obviously, if you are in great hitting form, quality of cricket and quality of bowling might be different but Andre Russell is a confidence player. If his confidence is high, then the bowling does not matter,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir has further said that Russell shouldn't be batting below number five, as he is in great form at the moment.
“If someone goes in such big-hitting form to the IPL, I want to see how KKR uses him. Because now they have Eoin Morgan as well, who is in great form. So if you have two such international players, who are in great hitting form, left-handed and right-handed, then you can be a little flexible,” Gambhir said.
“KKR should not send Andre Russell below No .5 in the batting order considering the form he is in. And the number should not matter, the overs should matter. Batting position is an overrated thing, six balls can change the entire match in T20 cricket.
“So at times, it is possible, that you have got such a good start, that you can send Russell even ahead of Morgan. It is not necessary to send him after Morgan. You can send him at No. 4 as well, it should be an over-oriented batting line-up rather than saying that you will not send him above No. 5 or No. 6.”
