Well done! Russell scored a sluggish 21 off 15 balls, his only double-digit score of the season, but he was unable to ignite KKR’s 199-run chase against GT.
Dwayne Bravo, the coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), thrown his support behind all-rounder Andre Russell after Monday’s IPL 2025 loss to Gujarat Titans (GT). Russell scored a sluggish 21 off 15 balls, his only double-digit score of the season, but he was unable to ignite KKR’s 199-run chase against GT. Bravo was asked after the game about Russell’s difficulties in the 2025 Indian Premier League, particularly when facing spinners. Russell isn’t the only player at KKR having trouble scoring runs, Bravo said, downplaying the discussions.
“Andre Russell is a skilled and accomplished athlete. Yes, he was removed by the leg-spinners in a couple of games. However, I don’t believe that as a team, we are batting well. That’s the truth. It’s not just Russell who is having trouble. We must work together to support the players. We must continue to be well-prepared. The IPL is a challenging competition. Bravo, a four-time IPL champion, stated that if you don’t start well, hitters may have a moment of insecurity.
Bravo lamented that finishers like Russell and Rinku Singh have had a harder time this season since KKR’s top order hasn’t produced strong starts.”Not all teams have leg-spinners, and Rashid Khan, a top-tier spinner, faced him today. The run rate is always at 14 or 15 runs per over when Russell enters the batting zone. To allow him to complete games as he has for KKR for so many years, work must be done from the top. Yes, he was removed a couple times by leg-spinners, but it shouldn’t be a major worry. “All we have to do is improve our batting (at the top) so that our finishers can complete games,” he continued.After the 39-run loss to GT, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, who produced a valiant half-century, his third of the season, also blamed the batters.
“When you are chasing a big target, you expect a good start with your opening batters; that’s what we are looking to get better as a batting unit,” he stated. “I have no concerns about our bowlers; I believe they are performing admirably. They are becoming better every game.
“We know these conditions really well, [but] we need to bat properly, we need to bat well in the middle overs, that’s what we are struggling [with] as a batting unit.”
