The chances of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) playoffs in IPL 2025 seem to be thin, and the shape of some of their star players are a source of concern. One of these stars is the faithful West Indian Andre Russell, who has failed to shoot regularly and failed to win matches for his franchise in IPL 2025. Russell only succeeded at 55 points at a striking rate of 119 during this season, and also received a role minimized with the ball. The former legendary India cricket player Anil Kumble criticized the use of KKR from Russell.
“I felt that the use of André Russell had not been really great from the point of view of the KKR. I think Russell should beat higher. He should certainly get more opportunities,” said Kuble, speaking on Jiostar.
Kumble highlighted KKR’s defeat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) as a match where Russell was underused. In this match, KKR failed to hunt 112, Russell with a big task while beating with tail terminals.
“Just look at the one they lost against the punjab. I think that in the canoe, ideally at that time, you would say:” Okay, André Russell, you will simply finish this game early. If you arrive on the first ball, it doesn’t matter. We still have Bowlers, “said Kuble.
During their previous match against Gujarat Titans (GT), Russell was released 13th with the required climb.
“During the last match, when Russell came, I think the competition was over, 17 and a half, 18 points and more. It can happen once in 10 games or once in 20 games. It cannot happen every time. It is therefore something that I think KKR must understand,” Kumble said.
Russell picked up six counters in IPL 2025, but did not border only four of KKR’s eight counters. This is a significantly reduced role in relation to last year, when Russell was the second largest KKR lecturer with 19.
The bad form of Russell has also coincided with the rough point of Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh, transforming the strong medium order of KKR into their weakness. Venkatesh and Rinku made KKR heard a combined crore of Rs 36.75, but only contributed 135 and 133 points respectively in IPL 2025.
With three victories in eight matches, KKR covers the risk of being eliminated from the race for the playoffs with one more defeat.
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