Star West Indies’ all-rounder Andre Russell has been ruled out of the T20I series against India due to an injury. Russell was yet to join the 15-man squad that was named to compete against India in the three-match affair. Suspicion over his participation in the match arose when he was a notable absentee during the West Indies’ practice sessions at the Eden Gardens on November 3.
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Chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said that Russell was “injured at this time” as quoted by a Cricket West Indies statement.
The hard-hitting right-hander had represented the Nangarhar Leopards in the Afghanistan Premier League, just a day before the West Indies squad for the limited-overs’ leg of the India tour was announced. He wasn’t included in the ODI squad due to an injury. Russell had, meanwhile made his injury public in an Instagram post on October 12 where he stated that he was headed on his way home from the APL.
This development would surely be a huge blow to the West Indies’ chances of upstaging India in the three-match affair–the first of which gets underway on Sunday.
Big guns like Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine are already out of the series citing various reasons. Off-spinner Ashley Nurse too has joined the list with a shoulder injury he sustained during the ODI series, following which he had ruled himself out of the T20I affair.