Russell has been a big feature of the IPL over the years.
KKR mainstay He has become the mainstay for Kolkata Knight Riders and has won the franchise several games.
In fact, he is among the best all rounders to feature in the IPL and has scored 1700 runs from 84 IPL matches at an average of almost 30 and a strike rate of 178.45.
Russell also picked up 72 wickets at an average of 26.4 and an economy rate of 9.05 with one 5 wicket haul.
Dipping returns
However, his performances over the last couple of years have dropped. While he has still held his own with the ball, the big knocks that the fans in the IPL have become used to seeing did not come.
Andre Russell failed to find form in the 2021 T20 world cup for West Indies as well. Although he did play a fabulous knock in the final of the Abu Dhabi T10 League and has put in a couple of decent performances in the Big Bash League as well, but other than that, he hasn't been at his best.
Club vs Country There has also always been the conflict of Russell favouring franchise cricket rather than playing for the West Indies. The issue was highlighted when Russell chose to play in the Lanka Premier League in 2020 instead of touring New Zealand with the West Indies.
"Playing for West Indies comes first for me," Russell said. "And the energy and effort that I put out playing for West Indies, I wouldn't do it playing anywhere else. Sometimes people don't understand what a player like myself goes through with niggles and all of those things. But they're just going to judge, and it's easy for them to judge. During the IPL, I was talking to Pollard. He asked me: "Russ, I'm not forcing you, I'm just asking you: "Are you coming to New Zealand?" I said, "yeah, man, I would want to come, but right now, Polly, my headspace is messed up."
"As a player to another player, he will understand what I'm going through. Coming from a bubble in Trinidad [for CPL], coming straight into Abu Dhabi [in IPL], days on days, you can only go to practise, and come back to the hotel and your room. You can close your eyes and go to the bathroom, but there is nowhere else to go."
