Destructive West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell has taken ongoing 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 by storm with his blistering batting for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Having already amassed 312 runs in nine matches at a staggering strike rate of 213.69 with 21 boundaries and 30 sixes for KKR so far in the IPL 2019, Russell has been continually tormenting the best in the business in the lucrative franchise event and for which, the all-rounder credited his Windies teammate Chris Gayle, saying he is the one who made him a hard-hitter of the game of cricket.
The right-hander on Saturday, 20th April, has revealed that Gayle has offered him a piece of advice during the 2016 ICC World T20 that helped him to transform into the power-hitter he is today.
Russell said on BBC's Doosra Podcast on Saturday, “Chris Gayle changed my life in terms of power hitting. I've learned a lot from him. I used to use lighter bats, but when you make contact with a light bat, it doesn't go anywhere. During the World Cup, he came to me and said, 'Russ, you're better than that. You can use bigger bats, you're strong.”
The explosive batsman continued, “2016, when we won the (T20) World Cup in India, that year changed my life. That semi-final onwards, where I scored 48 (43) runs for West Indies. Now my bats are (bigger). There's a lot of mechanics behind my bats, I play around with them a lot.”
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old also revealed that he had done a lot of hard work in the gym like a beast as well as developed his game by using smart training methods to become the force he is today.
He noted, “I work out like NFL players. When I went to Dallas a few years ago, that kind of changed my life into seeing how professional athletes in different sports go about their game. These guys train hard, high intensity. Even if they weren't doing heavy weights, they were doing a lot of repetition. That's what I use: I don't need to get big and bulky. If I get bulky, I will bowl slow and my arm speed will get slow while batting. You need to smart about how you train. I train hard. I work hard in the gym, like a beast. A lot of power work. Because the stronger you are, the easier you're going to hit certain balls.”
The Caribbean all-rounder also recalled the tough time when KKR stood by him following the one-year ban he was handed in 2017 for a doping-code violation.
Russell signed off by saying, “I owe all these performances to Kolkata. When I got banned in 2017, I was depressed. I do not cry easily, but to see Venky Mysore (KKR CEO) take up the phone and say they were going to retain me through that time, water filled my eyes. They know me, that's the thing about family. I owe these performances to them.”
(With BBC Inputs)
