Andre Russell To Miss New Zealand Clash, Confirms Jason Holder

West Indies skipper Jason Holder has confirmed Andre Russell would not play in the upcoming clash against New Zealand. While he has played in all of West Indies’ games so far, he has not looked fit at all. The allrounder, in fact, has looked like he would break down at any moment on the field. He has been  wincing after striking the ball and has also struggled to stay on his feet on the field.

West Indies, however, risked him in all of their games but did not get much result because of his poor fitness. The team-management finally seems to have made its mind now as Jason Holder confirmed Russell would not play in the crucial game against New Zealand. In the last outing where West Indies failed to defend 321, Russell was out for a duck.

“We’ve still got a few niggles within the group,” Jason Holder said. “We’re trying to manage niggles the best we possibly can. I think one guy who probably may be definitely out tomorrow is Russell. I don’t think he’s fit enough to go tomorrow. But everybody else should be good to go.”

Missing Russell would definitely be a big blow but since he was failing to give his all due to poor injury, dropping him looks the better decision. The allrounder had a stunning Indian Premier League where his consistent power-hitting took one and all by surprise.

With just three points from five games, West Indies are reeling at the seventh spot in the points table. A loss against in-form New Zealand will all but seal their hopes of progressing ahead. On the basis of current form, New Zealand will start as favourites. However, West Indies should take confidence from their win over the Kiwis in the warm-up clash where they had piled up 421.

“It just shows what we can produce,” Holder said of the warm-up game. “It’s a situation where we’ve just got to pull on those resources, remember the things that we did in that game. And it just shows that when we’re at our best what we can produce. I just think the guys just need to be clear, need to be calm and just execute their plans.”

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