ESPNcricinfo-West Indies allrounder Andre Russell will not be part of the T20I series against India, after it emerged on the eve of the first match in Kolkata that he was injured and had not yet arrived in the country.
Russell was one of seven players supposed to join the T20I squad over the last three days, but his absence during the training sessions at Eden Gardens – his home ground in the IPL – was conspicuous.
Russell recently played the CPL for Jamaica Tallawahs, and then went to the Afghanistan Premier League where he played one game for Nangarhar Leopards on October 9, a day after he had been picked in West Indies’ T20I squad. Three days later, on October 12, Russell said on Instagram that he was leaving the APL early because of what he indicated was a knee injury.
Russell had not been picked in the ODI squad for the India tour because he had been “ruled out of all 50-over cricket due to injury.” In a release on the eve of the first T20I, West Indies’ chairman of selectors Courtney Browne confirmed that Russell was injured, without elaborating.
The West Indies T20I squad is already depleted by the absence of Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis at the top of the order, with both players pulling out due to personal reasons.
