IPL 2021: Andre Russell dropped from KKR's playing XI in crucial eliminator; fans react

The Eliminator match of IPL 2021 is currently underway at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are locking horns in order to get a step closer to the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first against the Eoin Morgan-led side, which had no Andre Russell in the starting XI yet again. Andre Russell was ruled out of KKR's playing XI after suffering a hamstring injury during a match against CSK late last month. 

Andre Russell on October 8 had shared a video of himself, announcing he has recovered from the injury and suggesting that he will be back for the side in their next game. However, when Morgan announced the playing XI on Monday and there was no Andre Russell in the mix, netizens immediately went wild on social media to share memes and jokes, criticising the team selection. Eoin Morgan, on the other hand, did not explain the reason why Russell has been kept out of the playing XI but it could be due to the fact that Shakib is a spinning all-rounder who can come in handy on slow Sharjah pitches. 

In the 17th over of CSK's run chase on September 26, Andre Russell succeeded in making an athletic save at the midwicket boundary while fielding but ended up doing some damage to himself as he appeared to be in deep discomfort holding his hamstring. Andre Russell has played 10 matches for KKR this season and has scored 183 runs at an average of 26.14. He has also picked 11 wickets, including a five-wicket haul he registered against RCB last month in their first match of UAE leg. 

RCB vs KKR: Playing XIs

KKR's Playing XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.

RCB's Playing XI: Virat Kohli (captain), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dan Christian, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.

Image: BCCI