Andre Russell KKR batting position: The batting position of the West Indian all-rounder has been up for discussion since IPL 2019.
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Kolkata Knight Riders chief mentor David Hussey believes England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan would become a “great ally” for KKR captain Dinesh Karthik in the 13th season of the Indian Premier League.
Speaking during a virtual press conference from Abu Dhabi, Hussey was wax lyrical about the World Cup-winning captain and expects his calmness to come good for Knight Riders in IPL 2020.
“He [Eoin Morgan] is huge, isn’t he? Classy player, classy performer, Morgan’s going to be a great ally for [Dinesh] Karthik. He may be fielding in the ring talking to the bowlers while the captain is behind the stumps keeping wickets.
“He’s a cool, calm and collected person and will also be a handy batman controlling the middle overs with Karthik. I expect a really good relationship between them, and his calm head can win us many games through the tournament,” Hussey said of Morgan.
Morgan, who made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2010, last played in the cash-rich league in 2017 for Kings XI Punjab.
His eight-year stint in the IPL also involves spending three years (2011-13) at KKR. In 26 T20s for Kolkata, Morgan had scored 444 runs at an average of 22.20 and a strike rate of 124.37 including two half-centuries.
Andre Russell KKR batting position
Hussey also addressed the elephant in the room in the form of all-rounder Andre Russell’s batting position. Known for his finishing skills while batting lower down the order, Russell has been in stupendous form in the last two years so much so that there has been a continuous debate around his role.
Since the start of 2019, Russell has amassed 1,424 runs in 53 T20 innings at an average and strike rate of 43.15 and 177.78 respectively. Considering him dominating bowling attacks at will, a plethora of fans and experts want franchises to bat Russell as high as possible to bring out the best out of him.
T20 teams simply don’t know how to use Andre Russell.
— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) September 1, 2020
Being asked about the same, Hussey readily agreed to the notion of allowing Russell more time in the middle. “Why not? If it benefits the team and helps us win games of cricket, why not?
“If he comes in at No. 3 and bats 60 balls, he might even score a double hundred. Anything can happen with Dre Russ [Andre Russell]. He is almost the heartbeat of the team,” Hussey added.
