Andre Russell is feared by bowlers for his capabilities with the bat as the muscular man can hit boundaries and over boundaries at will against any bowler with the exception of Jasprit Bumrah and two or three others according to former KKR skipper two-time IPL winner Gautam Gambhir. Andre Russell has won matches from impossible situations with his explosive batting which has won the hearts of fans.
Kolkata Knight Riders former captain Gautam Gambhir gave his opinion on the batting position of Andre Russell too. He was of the opinion that Jasprit Bumrah can trouble West Indian Andre Russell with his yorkers and accurate pace bowling. Jasprit Bumrah plays for Mumbai Indians and is known for his death bowling. Andre Russell scored 510 runs and picked up 11 wickets from 14 matches and finished as the top scorer for KKR and 5th overall run-scorer in 2019.
Russell finishes as the top run-getter for the KKR. Photo Credit: Screengrab/IPL.
Andre Russell Can Be Troubled By Jasprit Bumrah: Gautam Gambhir
Andre Russell had an extraordinary strike rate of 204.81 in 2019 as in 64 matches in IPL he has scored exactly 1400 runs at a strike rate of 186.41 which is extraordinary, to say the least.
“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,” Gambhir said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
“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.
“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.”
Jasprit Bumrah on the other hand has taken 82 wickets overall from 77 matches in IPL at an average of 26.59. He has an unorthodox sling action but has performed exceedingly well in Indian colors in all three formats and spearheads the pace attack of India and Mumbai Indians. Last season too he picked up 19 wickets averaging only 21.52 from 16 matches. He was placed 5th in bowlers list with most wickets.
Andre Russell Should Not Be Send Below No. 5 In Batting Order: Gautam Gambhir
Andre Russell bats lower down the order, but mentor David Hussey has indicated that he may be sent higher up the order and has even backed him to score 200 which is yet to be achieved in T20 cricket. Andre Russell batting lower down the order has been debatable and he may be sent ahead of 2019 World Cup-winning skipper England’s Eoin Morgan who is in form.
“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,” he said.
Eoin Morgan
“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.”
Eoin Morgan has scored 854 runs in 52 matches averaging a modest 21.35 but all eyes will be on him, Andre Russell, and skipper Dinesh Karthik ahead of the forthcoming IPL to see who bats higher up the order.
