As Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a middle-order collapse in their run-chase in the final of the IPL 2021 and lost to Chennai Super Kings, there were suggestions that the team missed Andre Russell’s powerhitting skills and intimidating presence at No.6.
However, Brendon McCullum threw perspective into the mix, reiterating that while Russell has worked hard in his rehab over the last few weeks, it was still very difficult for him to play and that he risked aggravating his injury again.
“Look, Andre, he obviously had a hamstring tear earlier on in the competition. He worked unbelievably hard to try and get himself available. There was still a risk there, and it was a risk that I felt in a final, we just couldn’t afford to take.
Such is the nature of hamstrings, you’re just never really sure whether they’re going to be fully healed or not. It was just such a big risk.”
McCullum told the press after the match, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
An integral member of his side, Russell went down with a hamstring injury earlier in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. Playing a league game against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi, the West Indies international made a fantastic save near the boundary, but once he got up, he looked in evident discomfort.
He limped off the field and took no further part in the match and the rest of the competition.
In Russell’s absence, the Knight Riders lacked his explosiveness from the middle-order and his ability to chip in with useful overs of medium fast-bowling as the fifth or the sixth bowling option.
Having conceded a massive 192/3 in the first half of the final versus CSK, KKR began well and reached a score of 91/0 halfway through their chase. But they slipped drastically thereafter and finished with a total of 165/9 in their full 20 overs.
