Follow UsAndre Russell has struggled for form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. On April 21 (Monday) against Gujarat Titans (GT), the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder scored a 15-ball 21 - his highest score of the season, underlining his struggles.
However, KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo believes Russell is not the only player struggling and insists that the other batters have to do their job for Russell to do his down the order.
"Russell is an experienced player. He's a successful player. Just a couple of games, the leg spinners have got him out. But I don't think we actually had the team batting properly. So that is the reality. Russell is not the only one who is struggling at the moment," Bravo said at the post-match press conference.
"But as a group, we have to make sure that the players keep putting in their work and practice, keep preparing well, try to keep them mentally focused.
"IPL is a tough tournament. And when you don't start well, batsmen go into a period where they lose confidence. And that's what's happening at the moment. We just have to keep backing them and hopefully they come good"
Chasing 199, KKR never really managed to get going and lost wicket at regular intervals, not allowing them to be in the game at any point. By the time Russell walked in, in the 13th over - a perfct entry point for him - KKR needed 98 more off 45 deliveries.
Russell ran into Rashid Khan, the leg-spinner, the bowling type against which Russell has struggled.
"Not every team has leg-spinners. And then today, obviously, Rashid Khan, one of the quality players. But, you know, when Russell walks into bat every time, the run rate is at 14-15. So the work needs to be done on top so that we give him a chance to finish off games like he is accustomed to doing over the years for KKR," Bravo said.
"So, yeah, he has leg-spinners getting him out a few times. But I don't think that is a big concern. I just figured that, we need to bat better to allow our finishers to finish cricket games."
GT managed to get 198 on the board but Bravo believes KKR did well to restrict the opposition to under 200 especially after Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan put on 114 for the first wicket.
"I think the bowlers, first of all, did a fantastic job restricting them under 200," Bravo admitted.
"Shubhman Gill and Sai batted very well, but credit to our bowling group, they really brought it back and gave us a chance at the halfway stage. I think we were the happier team.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get the start we wanted in the powerplay. And then, they slowed us down through the middle and obviously we faulted in the end."
KKR are currently in seventh position on the IPL 2025 points table with just three wins from eight matches. They will hope to change things around when they take on Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 26 (Saturday) in Kolkata.