Russell clears air over picking LPL over West Indies
Andre Russell’s decision to turn up for Colombo Kings in the ongoing Lanka Premier League turning his back for West Indies raised eye-brows with West Indies coach Phil Simmons saying that Russell’s stint in Sri Lanka was ‘news’ to him.
But it seems the allrounder has offered to join the squad, having initially opting out from the New Zealand series due to bio-bubble pressure. Russell was approached by chief selector Roger Harper in October while he was representing Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Russell said he had explained to both Harper and West Indies’ white-ball captain Kieron Pollard that his “headspace” was “messed up” while moving between biosecure bubbles, an environment he described as close to being “in prison.”
He had even approached Harper during the IPL about reversing his decision to travel to New Zealand. The chief selector said he was “sorry” as the squad was already picked.
“Playing for West Indies comes first for me,” Russell told Jamaica-based TV network SportsMax. “And the energy and effort that I put out playing for West Indies, I wouldn’t do it playing anywhere else. Sometimes people don’t understand what a player like myself goes through with niggles and all of those things. But they’re just going to judge, and it’s easy for them to judge,” he said.