‘I’ve learnt how to be humble’ – Andre Russell

It has been almost two years since Andre Russell featured for the Windies at any level. His last outing in their famous maroon came in Florida in a Twenty20 International against India in August 2016.

Since then, various factors have kept the all-rounder out of the national side, not least the one-year ban he copped for violating the whereabouts clause of the World Anti-Doping Agency. It put him out of the game from 31 January 2017 to 30 January 2018.

His ban served, Cricket West Indies attempted to include him in their squad for their all-important ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 campaign, but Russell refused. The all-rounder had much work to do match his own standards, and at the very least, he needed to regain match fitness and sharpness. He was nowhere close to where he wanted to be.

So Russell got to work, starting with a few outings for Jamaica in the Regional Super50, the domestic List A competition, and a century in his final match against Kent set him up well for the Pakistan Super League that followed. He struggled to replicate that form in the PSL, though, playing just four matches with a top score of 15, and picking up four wickets in all.

However, he seemed more at home at Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, having been one of just two players retained by the franchise ahead of the auction in January. It was a morale booster. He did well enough in his first match, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, conceding just 0 runs in his two overs and scoring an 11-ball 15 to contribute to a straightforward chase.

But his epic was saved for Tuesday 10 April. He slammed a 36-ball unbeaten 88 against Chennai Super Kings with just a solitary four. The bulk of the runs came via the aerial route, with Russell hammering 11 sixes, including a couple out of the ground.

The 11 sixes equalled the record for the most in a T20 innings of less than hundred, and it helped catapult Kolkata’s total to 202/6. That they still lost was another matter altogether.

Russell managed a couple of smiles in the post-match interaction, but his mood was largely sombre following the loss. “I’ve played a lot of T20s, and you see that a lot of times, you score 180-190, even 200, and still lose the game,” he said.

“It was a good team effort. (But) I’m not going to point fingers and say, ‘this guy didn’t bowl well’ or ‘this guy didn’t’. We just have to learn from this, and take another step, make sure we nail our yorkers and be more precise on what we’re going to bowl.”

As far as Russell was concerned, the team’s plight mattered more than his personal feats, but inevitably, he was asked to reflect on the year on the side-lines.

Russell’s response was that of someone who had done some soul-searching and emerged a new man.

“I’m confident, and once you have confidence in whatever sport you play, that’s all you need,” he said, pausing to think. “Self-belief. I think this one year, it has made me a different person. I’ve learnt how to be humble and stay on top of what you’re doing as a professional.

“I just know that these things (shouldn’t) happen again. I’m in a good condition, I wouldn’t say a 100 per cent, but I’m happy. The ball is coming off the bat good, and I’m bowling with pace. I know in a few more games, I’ll be where I want to be.”

Russell is on track to meet his own standards. Once he does, the Windies won’t just have their old player back, they might have a new man too.