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IPL 2021: 'Bad look for KKR when you have a player who is struggling with his body,' Michael Vaughan on Andre Russell
IPL 2021: During a discussion on Cricbuzz, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that managing Russell is a tricky job, as he can be a match-winner on his day, but his lack of fitness gives the team a bad look.
Needing 44 runs in the final two overs, Kolkata Knight Riders star-batsman Andre Russell decided not to take a single off Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Mohammed Siraj so that he can keep the strike. Russell struggled to hit a boundary in the penultimate over, and could only muster one single on the final ball.
It means KKR needed 43 to win in the final over, thus making the task an impossible one. KKR lost the IPL 2021 encounter by 38 runs. After the match, questions were raised on Russell's fitness, as the batsman did not try to run doubles in the 19th over.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that managing Russell is a tricky job, as he can be a match-winner on his day, but his lack of fitness gives the team a bad look.
"When you got player like Andre Russell, who has been a superstar, but on the field, when the ball is coming to him, he is always using his feet. He is obviously someone who cannot go down. It's a very clever and careful aspect which Eoin Morgan will have to manage," Vaughan said.
"When he is at his best, he is great. But when you see him on the field, and when is bowling, he appears to be struggling. While batting he is not taking the twos. He needed to take the twos in the 19th over. Because you want him back on strike. Very difficult to manage for Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan," he added.
"I think in modern-day cricket, you need 9-10 players in a team who are absolutely agile on the field. But when you see KKR on the field, they don't look electric.
"It's a difficult one. How can you leave at Russell. But when you look at him on the field, and when he is bowling. it's a bad look for the team when you got a player who is really struggling with his body," Vaughan signed off.
