Ahead of the Indian Premier League season, though the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have included English all-rounder Chris Woakes from the auction but the franchise is yet to come up with an alternative who could replace the Caribbean hard hitter, Andre Russell. In this season, Russell would not be joining KKR as he has been suspended from the team over doping charges.
On the absence of this big man, KKR batsman Manish Pandey, while speaking to media, stated that it would be a great reason of worry that Russell will not be a part of the team this season. He said,”In some of the games, Russell was the man who came out with some extraordinary show with his bat. Being one of the match winners, his absence could be a worry for us.”
“There are many players in the team who may not be better than him but have similar abilities and talents replacing him. However, it will be a good tournament will mixed players,” added Pandey who is the first Indian player to score a century in the IPL.
“We have players who may not be better than him but have similar abilities and talent replacing him. It will be a good tournament and mix of players,” Pandey, who won the IPL-2014 for KKR with a man-of-the-match performance, said.
For the current season, KKR have Kiwi pacer Trent Boult and Aussie bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile along with Woakes which might overrule the absence of Russell but not up to the fullest. “Both Boult and Woakes are great players the team has. It will be a great experience for the all-rounders to share the dressing room with them. I think it will make a lot of different to us.”
Andre Russell had played some crucial innings for KKR with the bat and bowled some phenomenal spell with the ball in the past seasons. He has been banned for a year for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency’s whereabouts clause but KKR has decided to retain him even as there is no clarity over retention rules for the next edition when most players would be free for auction pool.
