New Delhi: Refusing to revel in the early spotlight after his blitzkrieg in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 opener, Kolkata Knight Riders allrounder Andre Russell has credited the team's support staff and said that having the great Wasim Akram in the dugout is a big plus.
"The support staff of KKR is excellent. I ask a lot of questions from Wasim Akram. He teaches me simple things in practice that I may not notice. I do what he tells me to do," Russell told PTI in an interview.
"How the ball come off the hand differently from different seam positions and things happen. So its good when you guys like Wasim around. He can keep reminding you about your action, your follow through, hitting your wicket and bowl in the right areas," he said.
The West Indian allrounder, who smashed a 25-ball 58 against Chennai Super Kings, took the reigning IPL champions out of a slump to ease to their 158-run target with an over to spare. Russell though cautioned the team against complacency.
"I think in T20 cricket, there is always room for improvement and we can't take any team lightly. Every team is good on its day. So you can't really pick favourites and predict that this or that team will pose a challenge or will be easy meat," said Russell.
"When I say that this team is a weak team or this team is a strong team, I am probably creating trouble for myself by taking my opposition lightly. A strong team can be all out for a paltry score while a so-called weak team can go on to post a huge total. So you can never take anybody lightly. We just have to keep fighting and keep playing good cricket all through," he added.
Russell, who is part of two champion sides with Jamaica Tallawahs winning the Caribbean Premier League in 2013 and KKR triumphing in IPL this year, said that captains Chris Gayle and Gautam Gambhir have led their respective teams with great focus.
"It's two good leaders. They are very serious when it comes to the game. They are very passionate about it and I would give them a 100 per cent any day," said Russell.
