ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Kolkata Knight Riders superstars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are the latest players from the just-concluded Caribbean Premier League to arrive for the historic Indian Premier League scheduled to bowl off next weekend.
The pair touched down here Sunday to link up with KKR but will first undergo the mandatory week-long isolation before being able to join the squad.
West Indies teammate Kieron Pollard, who presided over Trinbago Knight Riders’ capture of their fourth CPL title last Thursday, arrived 24 hours earlier along with Sherfane Rutherford to join Mumbai Indians.
Both Russell and Narine enjoyed a productive campaign in the CPL even though they sat out a few games for both their franchises.
All-rounder Russell scored 222 runs at an average of 44 with three half-centuries and a strike rate of 141. However, he hardly bowled his medium pace, sending down only 13 overs and picking up three wickets.
Russell proved a key figure for KKR last season, plundering 510 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 204, while snaring 11 wickets.
Narine, meanwhile, was a member of the successful TKR side in the CPL but featured in only five matches, taking six wickets at 15 runs apiece at less than five runs per over.
He also missed the final when TKR beat St Lucia Zouks by eight wickets at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.
Narine, who has reinvented himself as a bowling all-rounder in recent time, endured an average campaign last year for KKR with only 143 runs and 10 wickets.
This year’s IPL will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 in a bio-secure “bubble” amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.