While Chris Gayle has been giving the bowlers around the world a sleepless night regularly, Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes expressed his concern about West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell.
He said Bangladesh’s success will depend on how quickly they can send back Russell to the dressing room as he believed that the dangerous batsman can take the game away on his day.
West Indies is a team which is never short of hard hitters as they also have players like Chris Gayle, Carlos Braithwaite, Nicholas Pooran at their disposal but the special attention will be on Russell because of his Indian Premier League (IPL) form.
Though Russell is yet to translate his IPL form in the World Cup, it makes Bangladesh more careful given the fact that the big man will be eager to break the shackle.
Bangladesh will take on West Indies on June 17 and it is expected to be a crucial game for both sides considering their chance of advancing beyond the group stage.
Chris Gayle can also make a scene of carnage, but age seemed to have taken a toll on Gayle as evidenced by his innings in the World Cup.
Rhodes praised Russell by saying that he is the best hitter that cricket has ever produced and it’s very difficult to ball at him.
“One of their explosive players is Andre Russell. And he is a formidable opponent. He is one of the best hitters in the game by far and on his day,” said Rhodes.
“It can be very difficult to bowl at him as he can take a game away from you,” he said. The world has seen the power of Russell many times before. Recently he ignited the Indian Premier League (IPL) with his hard-hitting master class.
Russell has scored 510 runs in 14 matches in this year’s edition with an average of 56.67 and hit 52 sixes in that tournament so far, which is most by any batsman.
From this stat it’s certain that for Bangladesh’s victory it’s very important to send Russell back to pavilion very early.
