Why is Andre Russell not playing in today’s South Africa vs West Indies match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in Southampton
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The West Indian star all-rounder Andre Russell has been left out of the Playing 11 for the South Africa vs West Indies Match 15 of the ICC Cricket World Cup at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.
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Having lost their previous encounter against the Aussies, the last thing Windies camp would have wanted is their ace all-rounder in the team to warm the benches at the sidelines.
Owing to injury
After winning the Toss, the Windies captain Jason Holder decided to field at the overcast conditions at Southampton. While this might be a good news for the Windies fans, the fact that Russell wouldn’t feature in their Playing 11 might prove to be a valuable loss against a good Proteas line-up.
Russell will miss out today’s game due to his sustained injury which has been a roadblock for him since the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year. Even during his first World Cup match against Pakistan at the Trent Bridge, the 31-year-old seemed to be in immense pain as he had apparently hurt his ankle while stooping for the ball in the deep.
During the IPL too, Russell had carried on providing his services to his Franchise- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) despite his left side of the body taped-up from top to bottom.
Russell was brilliant with the ball during his first World Cup match against Pakistan, as he was all over their batting line-up, picking up 2 wickets in three overs, at the cost of only 4 runs. He was the Most Valuable player with the bat in this year’s IPL as well as he amassed 510 runs at an average of over 56 in only 13 innings.
Evin Lewis misses out too
The Windies team had another injury miss-out in the form of their opening batsman Evin Lewis. Thus, it is the southpaw, Darren Bravo who has been roped into the side. As Russell’s replacement, the Windies have gone with the services of the experienced fast bowler- Kemar Roach.
South Africa, on the other hand, also have gone in with two changes. Chinaman bowler, Tabraiz Shamsi has been replaced by the left-arm pacer- Beuran Hendricks, while Aiden Markram makes way for JP Duminy.
