IPL 2019 | Chris Gayle changed my life in terms of power-hitting, says Andre Russell

Russell is increasingly threatening to change the very basics of batsmanship in T20 cricket and made himself a phenomenon this IPL. In 10 matches this season, Russell has already scored 392 runs at a staggering average of 65.33 while striking at 217.77. Although it is hardly surprising considering the Caribbeans have the affinity of scoring big runs in T20 cricket, Russell’s career has been a case study, for the simple fact that he was never touted to be a great power-hitter for the initial four-five years of his international cricket career. However, the KKR recruit has stated that it was Chris Gayle, who advised him to use heavier bats and once he changed that, his career has been on an upward journey.

“Chris Gayle changed my life in terms of power hitting. I’ve learned a lot from him. I used to use lighter bats, but when you make contact with a light bat, it doesn’t go anywhere. During the World Cup, he came to me and said, ‘Russ, you’re better than that. You can use bigger bats, you’re strong.” Russell told BBC. 

“2016, when we won the World Cup in India, that year changed my life. That semi-final onwards, where I scored 48 (43) runs for West Indies. Now my bats are . There’s a lot of mechanics behind my bats, I play around with them a lot.”

As a batsman, the Jamaican hits the ball hard enough to make it scream for mercy and is capable of generating even more pace with the ball in hand. As a fielder, it doesn’t matter where the ball is, he will probably get to it, which led to Ian Bishop, one of the greatest ever cricketers from the Caribbean islands, once called him less a cricketer and more an athlete. On being asked about that aspect, Russell credited a trip to Dallas to see an NFL game which helped him get a lot of knowledge about top-flight cricket.

“I work out like NFL players. When I went to Dallas a few years ago, that kind of changed my life into seeing how professional athletes in different sport go about their game. These guys train hard, high intensity. Even if they weren’t doing heavy weights, they were doing a lot of repetition. That’s what I use: I don’t need to get big and bulky. If I get bulky, I will bowl slow and my arm speed will get slow while batting. You need to be smart about how you train.”