IPL 2021: Eoin Morgan Provides Update On Andre Russell's Injury As All-Rounder Misses Second Consecutive Match

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will miss the services of Andre Russell for the second consecutive game of their IPL 2021 campaign in the UAE, skipper Eoin Morgan announced at the toss against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dubai on Friday.

Andre Russell suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday while fielding against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). During the 17th over of CSK’s chase, the all-rounder made a good save on the mid-wicket boundary and jumped himself off the field as soon as he threw back the ball.

KKR have to deal with another injury – to speedster Lockie Ferguson, who suffered an injury in KKR’s previous encounter versus Delhi Capitals (DC).

At toss against PBKS, the KKR skipper was reluctant to reveal the exact nature and seriousness of the injuries to Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson. He stated that both are being continuously monitored and will need to rehab first before returning to the side.

“Lockie and Russell are being monitored day by day. They have to rehab extremely well in order to be fit,” Eoin Morgan said at toss. 

Andre Russell felt something pop in his leg: David Hussey

Earlier, David Hussey, KKR’s team mentor, said that Andre Russell “felt something pop” in his hamstring when he made that fielding effort. Hussey is hoping for nothing much serious about the injury.

 “He said he felt something pop in his leg, his hamstring. We’ve got the best medical staff in the business so they’ll tend to him and hopefully it’s nothing too serious, because he’s a key part of our team,” David Hussey had said.

The West Indian made a significant contribution to KKR’s win over RCB in their first match back in the UAE. He returned with bowling figures of 3/9, which included the key wicket of AB de Villiers.

KL Rahul wins toss, elects to bowl first vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Meanwhile, Punjab skipper KL Rahul has won the toss and elected to bowl first. He has made three changes to his side which lost to Mumbai Indians, the big one is that of Chris Gayle as the left-hander has pulled out of the remainder of the tournament “to mentally recharge and refresh myself” ahead of the T20 World Cup.

KKR have a couple of changes – Time Seifert comes in for Ferguson and Shivam Mavi replaces Sandeep Warrier.

KKR Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w), Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy

PBKS Playing XI: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh