Ruing Andre Russell’s unavailability in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders have come out in the support of their all-rounder, who has been banned for a year for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) whereabouts clause.
The two-times IPL champions retained the West Indies star even though there is no clarity over the retention rule for the next edition. Majority of the players are set to go into the auction pool next season but the Kolkata-based outfit decided to retain the player.
Meanwhile, Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR, has said the player is facing the unfortunate ban due to an ‘administrative error’. Russell, in March last year, was accused by the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) of violating the whereabout clause. The JADCO claimed the 28-year old had failed to file his whereabouts on three occasions in 2015 – January 1, July 1 and July 25 despite being reminded through several means. Consequently, he was banned from all forms of cricket for a year.
“It’s unfortunate that Russell has received a sanction for what I would call an administrative error,” Venky Mysore said.
“There has been a slip-up somewhere and I know it’s not his fault. He can’t play this year, but we haven’t released him. Next year, depending on retention rules, we’ll try and keep him with us.”
One of the finest all-rounders in the shortest format of the game, Russell has established himself as a very important player for KKR. In the last two seasons, he has scored over 500 runs at an strike-rate of over 160 and has taken 29 wickets. Replacing him will obviously be a herculean task for any player and KKR have pinned their hopes on highly-rated England all-rounder Chris Woakes.
The England star had impressed during the Test series against India last year and Mysore is hopeful of a good performance from the 27-year old.
“Obviously it’s not easy to replace someone like Andre Russell. He had given us great balance. but that said we were able to do well,” he said.
“Getting Chris Woakes was a big thing. Looking at his stats, he is superb. He can bowl up front and bowl at the death. Trevor Bayliss told me that he was very closer to becoming a world class allrounder so we’re happy to have him.”
Kolkata has also secured the services of the 23-year-old big hitting Jamaican all-rounder Rovman Powell.
“We also have got Rovman Powell. He’s an emerging star and people in Jamaica call him Junior Russell. Look out for him. We have seen him in the CPL and he can do a lot with both bat and ball. Ishank Jaggi and Sanjay Yadav are also good buys. Coulter-Nile is another tremendous allrounder. He’s very quick and can bowl both on top and at the death. All of this gives us a really good balance. We really do have a solid core,” he concluded.