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Andre Russell, the quintessential global Twenty20 star, continues his upward trajectory in franchise cricket as he gets his first full-time leadership assignment in the form of captaining his side Jamaica Tallahwas in the upcoming season of the Caribbean Premier League.

He will take the charge over from Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara, who was appointed the captain last year as Russell missed the whole season in keeping with his one-year ban for doping violations.

Russell banished any doubts of him being rusty after a whole year of no competitive cricket or inhibited by his recurring hamstring issues, as he was one of the top performers for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the eleventh season of the Indian Premier League. He scored 316 runs from 14 innings at a strike rate of 184 and sent the ball sailing over the ropes an astonishing 31 times. To top that, he took 13 wickets as he assumed the makeshift role of being the front-line seamer in absence of Mitchell Starc.

"It's a good feeling, honestly, I missed out last year due to one-year suspension. I'm looking forward to it," Russell said. "Not just looking forward to play but looking forward to being the captain for the Jamaica Tallawahs, as well and looking forward to doing a good job."