Muscle Russell brings fear to any opponent

ANDRE Russell has probably played in every T20 league in the world and he is often one of the first players chosen in any T20 draft. A destructive batsman, a wicket-taking bowler and an athletic fielder, Russell is one of the best T20 cricketers in the world. Despite being a two-time T20 world champion with West Indies, Russell is most known for his exploits in T20 franchise cricket.

Dre Russ or Muscle Russell as he is called, has played more than 450 T20 matches, scoring over 7,500 runs at a healthy strike rate of 167.37. He has a knack for taking wickets and has grabbed 402 of them.

It should not have come as a surprise when Russell joined the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2022 CPL as he has been a member of the Knight Riders family for almost ten years. He made a name for himself for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in 2015 when he won the MVP award. He scored 392 runs at a strike rate of 192 and was also useful with the ball taking 14 wickets.

Russell did not show up in his first season with TKR, but there are already signs in the early stages of the 2023 tournament that he is back to his brutal best.

On Sunday he struck 23 not out off just eight balls to help TKR complete a victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. On Wednesday, he did the damage with the ball grabbing 3/13 in two overs which helped TKR dismiss Barbados Royals for just 61 which led to a 133-run win for the TT franchise, the largest win in the 11-year history of the CPL.

In the victory over the Royals, Russell became just the seventh player to grab 400 wickets in the T20 format. Two of his TKR team-mates are also members of the 400-wicket club including Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine.

TKR fans certainly know what Russell can produce on a cricket field. In the 2018 tournament, Russell showed his all-around ability in the space of a few hours.

Then a member of the Jamaica Tallawahs, Russell cracked six fours and 13 sixes in his innings of 121 not out off 49 deliveries and snatched a hat-trick in the same match against TKR at the Queen's Park Oval.

The number of T20 matches Russell has played has taken a toll on his body as he battled injuries regularly during his career. Russell has had knee problems for more than a decade which has led to him missing matches during his career, but once he stays on the pitch TKR are a more formidable team and can win their fifth CPL title.