Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

“Didn’t know Andre Russell was playing LPL” – WI coach | West Indies coach Phil Simmons unaware that Andre Russell is in Sri Lanka

Andre Russell has skipped the New Zealand series to take part for Sri Lanka’s Colombo Kings in the Lanka Premier League.

After playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League that was held in UAE this year and going by his social media posts he was seen spending time with his other cricketer friends after the tournament ended.

The West Indies head coach Phil Simmons said in a media briefing that the team management is unaware of Russell’s whereabouts.

When the media asked him about Russell skipping national games for franchise cricket, Simmons responded: “Is he? That’s news to me. I haven’t spoken to him since we came down here [to New Zealand],” Simmons said. “He was at the IPL and I haven’t spoken to him since then. I didn’t know he was in Sri Lanka. I can’t answer your question about that until I know what the whole situation is.”

Reportedly, Russell had opted out of selection process in October and Roger Harper, who is the lead selector of the national team, said in a virtual press meet that Russell is going from one lockdown to another, and that’s why he needs some time to for himself.

Harper also suggested that Russell might struggle to regain his place in the T20I if other players perform well in the upcoming assignments.

“He wasn’t really handling the whole thing very well and that he needed some time to clear his head and get himself together because he’s been going from one lockdown, so to speak, to another. I think as we move forward we will look at all situations, all players, and determine whether we need to continue to look at those players, continue to consider those players, or we need to move on,” he said. “A lot of things are determined by how well the team performs. I think if players in the team perform exceedingly well, then it will make it difficult for those that are not on the tour to get back into the team. So a lot of things will be taken into consideration as we move forward.”

Going by the past records, it’s safe to say Russell has been quite an absent player for the team in the last couple of years. He has played only twice in the format and both of them were against Sri Lanka. He also doesn’t have a central contract.

Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.