Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) have suffered a huge blow ahead of their crucial match against Delhi Capitals (DC) on September 28, 2021. KKR’s star all-rounder Andre Russell has sustained a hamstring injury and may not take the field against their clash against DC. The 33-year-old Caribbean was patrolling the boundary line against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and pulled his hamstring in the 17th over of the inning. The ball was traveling towards the boundary and Russell got injured trying to push the ball back into play. He was successful in stopping the boundary but in the process pulled his hamstring.
Russell immediately went out of the boundary limping. He couldn’t participate for the remainder of the match which created a few problems for KKR skipper Eoin Morgan. KKR missed his services in the key phase of the game as he had one over left in his quota of four overs. As a result, KKR lost the game by two wickets and missed out on two much-needed points.
KKR mentor speaks on Russell’s injury
In the post-match press conference, KKR mentor David Hussey gave an update on Russell’s injury. “He’s been playing very nicely with the bat, the ball, and in the field. So hopefully nothing too serious and he can come back and light the competition up like we know Andre Russell can do. Of course, when Andre went off the park, he had one over to go. Was he going to bowl? No one really knows. He bowled particularly well upfront, so he probably was going to bowl the 19th over,” he said.
What’s in the bank for KKR?
Russell has been an indispensible part of the Kolkata-based franchise. Since, it is not clear whether he will be fit to play against DC, there is a big gap KKR needs to fill. If we look at probable overseas replacements, they have New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert, Bangladesh’s veteran all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan and Aussie all-rounder Ben Cutting. If KKR opt for a fast-bowling all-rounder, Cutting is their best choice. If they want to go spin-heavy then Shakib is the obvious choice. Seifert will be considered only if KKR plan to use their part-time spinners Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer to fill in for the fifth bowler.
