Follow UsWhen Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) did not retain him, Andre Russell was expected to go for big money in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. However, that will no longer be the case as the all-rounder announced his shock IPL retirement and decided to join KKR's backroom staff as their power-hitting coach.
Opening about the decision to retire from the tournament, Russell revealed that it was challenging for him as an all-rounder to continue playing in the tournament, where the demand to deliver is high.
“It is based on the number of games and the travel. You have to make sure that you recover as well as possible to stay fresh and manage your body, manage practice sessions and your workload in the gym. You definitely need to practise, you need to hit the gym, but also make sure not to do too much,” Russell told Cricbuzz.
“With a big league like the IPL, it's always challenging for me as an all-rounder. And I can only speak on behalf of myself, because to bat, bowl and then make sure that you do some catching and fielding stuff - it's always challenging. I just think this league is so big that you always want to make sure that your best performance is always at hand."
Russell said he never considered performing solely as a batter, as he believes his batting has always complemented his bowling. “I have never thought about that, because I think my batting complements my bowling and my bowling complements my batting. I always look forward to bowling at least two overs in a game. I think if I'm bowling well, then my batting will automatically flow, and that's very important for me,” said Russell.
“If I were just a batter from the beginning of my career, then I would maybe think along those lines in terms of my career and everything, but I couldn't see myself playing as just an impact player or batting only and smashing sixes. I have to be fair to what I enjoy doing, which is batting and bowling both."
The 37-year-old is one of the most accomplished all-rounders in the IPL, with 2,651 runs at a strike rate of 174.18. And with the ball, he has picked up 123 wickets.