'Have to be flexible as a team' - Russell moots promotion to No.4
Andre Russell's devastating form in IPL 2019 has raised the question of his batting position for Kolkata Knight Riders. While he has often demolished bowling attacks at the death, experts and laymen alike have asked whether his team would be better served if Russell walks in with more overs remaining. After Knight Riders slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, Russell added fuel to the fire by suggesting that he should have batted higher up the order, instead of walking in with an asking rate of 16.53 after Royal Challenges Bangalore had piled up 213 for 4.
"Look, we were chasing 214 runs and weren't in the best state when I went out to bat," Russell said after the match, which Knight Riders ended up losing by only ten runs. "When Nitish (Rana) asked what I thought, I said 'I bat one way - and that's positive.' (But) to go out there and chasing 14-15 per over, it's not the best way you want to start as a batsman. I'm used to these situations, but why I say it's a sweet and sour feeling is because we need to learn from this, as a team. We need to learn that we can get 214. And to lose by 10 runs, well, we were just two hits away.
"I believe that [I should bat higher up the order]," Russell said as he put a finger to his lips, as if to suggest it was something he wanted, but couldn't speak about. "Honestly, you have to sometimes be flexible as a team. When you look at the make-up of our team, I don't mind going to bat at No. 4."
"Look, we were chasing 214 runs and weren't in the best state when I went out to bat," Russell said after the match, which Knight Riders ended up losing by only ten runs. "When Nitish (Rana) asked what I thought, I said 'I bat one way - and that's positive.' (But) to go out there and chasing 14-15 per over, it's not the best way you want to start as a batsman. I'm used to these situations, but why I say it's a sweet and sour feeling is because we need to learn from this, as a team. We need to learn that we can get 214. And to lose by 10 runs, well, we were just two hits away.
"I believe that [I should bat higher up the order]," Russell said as he put a finger to his lips, as if to suggest it was something he wanted, but couldn't speak about. "Honestly, you have to sometimes be flexible as a team. When you look at the make-up of our team, I don't mind going to bat at No. 4."
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