The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is much-anticipated cricket tournament of 2020 is going to be held from September 19 to November 8 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The one biggest prominent difference in the hosting of the league this year from last year is that the matches would be organized in the absence of spectators. This time the 13th edition of the IPL would be played in a bio secure environment keeping in mind all the health guidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While talking on the power of crowds on the players, Venky Mysore the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stated that many players thrive on the energy from the spectators and get highly driven by the response of people present in the stadium. Mentioning an example from a game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mysore revealed an interesting account involving West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell and Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
In an exclusive interview with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Cricket’s Facebook page, Venky narrated the incident where Russell hit Kumar for an farfetched six over long-off.
“I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be very different. In the IPL, the players will experience no crowds for the first time. Last year, we were playing a game against Sunrisers and it was an impossible situation. One of the best death bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling and he (Andre Russell) went in.” said Venky Mysore.
“It was Andre Russell’s day and he took him apart. There was one shot he played to a slow-ish ball outside off-stump. He could barely reach it but he hit it for six. I asked him after the game what that shot was,” said the CEO of KKR.
Russell said that he had goosebumps and tears in his eyes: Venky Mysore
Continuing the story further, Venky revealed that Caribbean all-rounder told him that he was greatly moved by the reaction of the crowd and he got goose bumps and tears in his eyes by seeing the love of the fans.
“He said, ‘Man, I don’t know. When I’m playing like that, the crowd gets me going. After I hit that shot, the way the crowd reacted, I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes’. This is the impact the crowd has on the players,” Venky added.
Mysore also called Andre Russell as the Michael Jordan of T20 cricket for his bewildering performance with the bat and ball lavished praise on the variety of all-rounders at KKR’s disposal. The 2019 IPL was a dream league for Russell as he was at his destructive best throughout the season. Russell scored 510 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 204.81.
