Andre Russell has hit back at the West Indies coach Phil Simmons who recently said that the star all-rounder is not making himself available to play for West Indies, but playing franchise cricket all around the world.
Russell was in a conversation with the former West Indies captain Darren Sammy on Sky Sports during one of the games of The Hundred in England yesterday and when he was asked about the comments made by Simmons, he said that he is being “thrown under the bus”.
According to Andre Russell, he and Phil Simmons have had a conversation about his availability for West Indies and Simmons knows why he is not available. The two parties didn’t agree on certain terms and that’s why he is not playing, but he is disappointed that despite knowing the reasons, Simmons is making such statements.
Russell insisted that he has always wanted to play a lot of international cricket for West Indies, but it can only happen if West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) agrees to his terms as well and it’s not just about him agreeing to their terms. Both parties need to have a mutual understanding.
Phil Simmons: "We can't beg people to play for West Indies." Andre Russell hasn't made himself available for selection. The status of Sunil Narine's availability is a bit of a mystery.
— Noel Francis (@nanthonyfrancis) August 10, 2022
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Andre Russell was one of the West Indies veterans who didn’t retire after last year’s T20 World Cup
After the T20 World Cup last year, which was not a great campaign for West Indies, the likes of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Chris Gayle decided to bid adieu to the game, but Russell remained active as an international player. However, his name was not there in any of the international squads that were picked by West Indies after the T20 World Cup.
Andre Russell has now clarified that his non-selection for West Indies is down to the fact that they didn’t reach a mutual understanding, but the veteran allrounder, who will play in the UAE T20 league after The Hundred, has said that he still has ambitions to play for the Caribbean national team.
"I want to win another World Cup or two more for West Indies." – Andre Russell (On Sky Sports)
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) August 17, 2022
