KKR vs DC IPL 2021 Match 41: Why is Andre Russell Not Playing Today?

KKR vs DC IPL 2021 Match 41: In a big news coming in from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 match between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC), big-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell is not playing because of a hamstring injury. Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Eoin Morgan has once again won the toss and opted to bowl first on a two-paced Sharjah wicket.

Why is Andre Russell Not Playing Today?

Kolkata Knight Riders team mentor David Hussey revealed that Russell complained of some sort of pain in his hamstring during the previous game against Chennai Super Kings. However, the Caribbean all-rounder bowled three overs in the last match where he picked up the vital wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad and also smashed 20 runs off 15 balls. But in this match against DC, Tim Southee is making his debut for KKR in place of Russell in the playing 11. Southee’s inclusion is a surprising one with the duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Ben Cutting still warming the bench as they are like-for-like replacements for Russell.

The SOUTHee Express is ready to make his first appearance in ??

Drop in your wishes for Tim??#KKRvDC #KKR #AmiKKR #IPL2021 #TimSouthee pic.twitter.com/VqQQraWfB2

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 28, 2021

Apart from Southee, KKR have also brought in pace bowler Sandeep Warrier in place of Prasidh Krishna. Incidentally, Krishna conceded a total of 22 runs in the penultimate 19th over against Chennai that was a major reason for his team’s loss.

KKR Playing 11 (Confirmed)
Shubman Gill
Venkatesh Iyer
Rahul Tripathi
Nitish Rana
Eoin Morgan
Dinesh Karthik
Sunil Narine
Tim Southee
Lockie Ferguson
Varun Chakravarthy
Sandeep Warrier

KKR vs DC IPL 2021 Match 41:

On the other hand, the Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals have made just one forced change to their winning combination from the previous win against Rajasthan Royals. DC opening batsman Prithvi Shaw is unavailable due to injury and Steve Smith will be playing his first match in the IPL 2021 Phase 2.

DC Playing 11 (Confirmed)
Shikhar Dhawan
Steve Smith
Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant
Shimron Hetmyer
Lalit Yadav
Axar Patel
Ravichandran Ashwin
Kagiso Rabada
Anrich Nortje
Avesh Khan

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