David Hussey, mentor of the Kolkata Knight Rider believes that the West Indian all-rounder can achieve a double century if he is sent up the order. It is a feat that nobody has ever achieved in a T20. The IPL 2020 schedule which was announced on Sunday by BCCI could be seeing Russel bat at No.3 for his side. Hussey said that with enough balls at his disposal, Russel can score a double hundred in a T20 match.
“If it benefits the team and helps us win games of cricket, why not? If that means Andre Russell comes in at three and bats 60 balls, he might actually make a double hundred. Anything can happen with Dre Russ,” Hussey said. Russel scored a whopping 510 runs in 13 innings, averaging 56.66 and picked up 11 wickets. Hussey called the West Indian the heartbeat of the team and also added “A fantastic player, he is probably almost the heartbeat of the team as well. “We’ve actually got really a well-balanced team… Anyone can bat in any different position. But if it benefits the team, why not, why can’t he bat up the list.”
The side has a new coach McCullum, Hussey as the mentor, and Kyle Mills as the bowling coach.“Anyone who knows Brendon McCullum is aware that he plays the game at 100 miles per hour, and he tries to encourage the players to take the game on. So we’ve got players who can take the game on, players who can fit in the anchor role,” he explained.
Eoin Morgan will be the deputy to Dinesh Karthik and the management has high hopes from the World Cup-winning captain to prove a good ally to the skipper. “He is a very cool, calm and collected person. He’s also going to be very heavy in the middle order controlling things. I do expect them to both have a really good relationship on and off the field and I think it’s going to go a long way to having a cool and calm head to winning many games during a very tight tournament.” KKR will begin there campaign against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on 23 September.
