When Andre Russell Broke Into Tears After Clubbing Bhuvneshwar Kumar For A Six

KKR CEO Venky Mysore spilt the beans on one of the most memorable incidents in the IPL, involving Andre Russell. Andre Russell is one of the most powerful strikers of the ball and has become a vital cog for the two-time champions and their fortunes. Venky Mysore revealed an episode when Andre Russell was teary-eyed on the field.

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In an exclusive interview with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda, the KKR CEO spoke about a variety of topics. One of the essential aspects was how the reactions of crowds have an impact on the players. From there, it dawned upon him to narrate the anecdote of Russell. The all-rounder will once again ply his trade for Kolkata in the upcoming season of the IPL.

It was likely the second match of 2019 IPL that Mysore referred to when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling to Andre Russell in a jampacked Eden Gardens Stadium. Mysore cited that the tournament would sound very different without crowds and narrated an incident of Kolkata’s game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata. Kolkata won that match as Russell made 49 off 19 balls while chasing.

“I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be very different. In the IPL, the players will experience no crowds for the first time. Last year, we were playing a game against Sunrisers and it was an impossible situation. One of the best death bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling and he (Andre Russell) went in,” Mysore stated.

Mysore continued the alibi saying that the Jamaican played an outrageous shot off his bat against a slow ball on the off-stump. Russell could barely reach out for the delivery but still dispatched it for a maximum. Mysore kept wondering what kind of a shot that was.

“It was Andre Russell’s day and he took him apart. There was one shot he played to a slowish ball outside off-stump. He could barely reach it but he hit it for six. I asked him after the game what that shot was,” he added.

When I’m playing like that, the crowd gets me going: Andre Russell

The 32-year old responded to the KKR CEO’s question by saying that the way the crowd reacted after that shot, broke him into tears and experiencing goosebumps. Mysore mentioned that this is the impact the spectators has on the players. For scoring 510 runs and taking 11 wickets, Andre Russell received the player of the tournament award.

“He said, ‘Man, I don’t know. When I’m playing like that, the crowd gets me going. After I hit that shot, the way the crowd reacted, I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes’. This is the impact the crowd has on the players,” Russell said.

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