Andre Russell was unhappy that KKR were not winning, reveals Dinesh Karthik on alleged spat

Andre Russell had been a part of the IPL since 2012 but it was only last year that he showed the world what he was capable of. In the 14 matches that the Windies star played for the Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2019 season, he scored 510 runs at an astonishing average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 204.81. What was even more impressive was the fact that he was played down the order which meant that the onus of winning the game for his team, sometimes, was entirely on his shoulders. It did eventually win the all-rounder the Man of the tournament award but that did not stop him from being critical of the decision to not promote him up the order. 

"To go out there and chasing 14-15 per over, it's not the best way you want to start as a batsman," Russell had been reported saying.

Karthik, who led the team in the same season, has come out and said that it had everything to do with the team struggling to win matches. 

"I think he's one of those guys who wears his heart on his sleeve. It's up to you how you take it. If you want to take it offensively, the mistake is on your part. If you want to take it constructively, which is how I looked at it... we had a conversation over it. Man to man, we discussed it. He wasn't unhappy with me, he wasn't happy that the team wasn't winning. That is the bottom line," Karthik said, reported Cricinfo.

"Whatever he said, I completely respected it. I think he got a taste of the Indian media then as well. Because what can be said and what comes out can be two different things. The tone of what you say to what comes out can be very different when it comes in print. He realised (that) and was a little apologetic as well. But at the end of the day, I have a great relationship with him. That makes the difference. 

“If I didn't have a great relationship with him, I think it could have spiralled into something nasty. Because I have an honest relationship, I can go straight up to him and say, 'Russ, I don't think what you said is right, because the way it has come out is not great, so what are we going do?' And he said, 'No, skip. This is how I felt about it, not how it's come out.' So there itself half the battle is over because what he said to what people are reading are two different things."

Karthik, who was signed by the franchise a couple of years ago, was handed the captaincy straight away with Gautam Gambhir moving on from the team. The KKR skipper explained how he dealt with the issue and admitted that he had met his teammate halfway. He even added that as the leader of the team, it was his job to ensure that conversations, even uncomfortable ones, were being held when needed.

"As a leader, I think having different opinions and dealing with it is one of the most important things. You need to be able to stand up and have a conversation, sometimes a hard conversation," Karthik said.