Andre Russell

His international career began in an unusual way: a Test at Galle against Sri Lanka in 2010, which turned out to be his only outing in that format. He was then named for the 2011 World Cup in India, where in his second match he claimed four English wickets and made 49 during a chase that West Indies ultimately lost. Some months later, in a home ODI series against India, he struck an unbeaten 92 and went on to take four wickets in a later game of the same series. He remained a useful one-day player until 2015, after which injuries restricted him to only a few ODIs.

The shortest format is where he has left his deepest mark. He was in the West Indies squads that won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, and he has won trophies in Australia, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh, thriving in leagues as varied as the BBL, IPL and CPL. There have been difficult periods too. An independent tribunal in Jamaica found him guilty of a doping-code violation, and he was banned for a full year in 2017. Persistent knee trouble forced him out partway through the 2019 World Cup and led to surgery, and he has also had disagreements with the West Indies board, including over his availability.

In the IPL, Delhi Daredevils signed him in 2012 for 450,000 USD, but injuries and limited opportunities meant few appearances across 2012 and 2013. He moved to KKR in 2014, playing only a couple of matches as they won the title. His breakout came in 2015, when he hit three fifties, scored 326 runs at a strike rate of 192, took 14 wickets, earned three Man of the Match awards and was named the season's MVP. In 2016 he took 15 wickets and won two Man of the Match awards for his bowling, as KKR reached the play-offs but not the final.

Back from his ban in 2018, he hammered 88 from 36 balls, with 11 sixes and one four, at Chepauk in only his second game, though KKR lost in the final over; he finished that season with 13 wickets and over 300 runs. In 2022 he made 335 runs and took 17 wickets in 14 matches, including 70 not out from 31 balls against Punjab Kings and figures of 4/5 against Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Sports Academy, yet KKR finished seventh and missed the playoffs. He later won the IPL again with KKR in 2024.