Andre Russell is one of those guys who wears his heart on his sleeve: Dinesh Karthik

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik opened up about the controversial statements that Andre Russell made during one of the press conferences in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Andre Russell, who eventually won the player of the tournament award, was critical about the decision-making of the KKR team management when they were not winning enough games and were lingering in the bottom half of the table.

Andre Russell had suggested to move himself up the order owing to his devastating form during the tournament. But the KKR team management saw his role as more of a finisher and thus did not agree with his proposal.

Dinesh Karthik has now cleared the air on an alleged tussle between him and Andre Russell, saying that he is on excellent terms with the West Indies player. Karthik also said that he had an 'open' discussion about the statements made by Andre Russell and tried to understand his point of view.

"I think he's one of those guys who wears his heart on his sleeve. It's up to you how you take it. If you want to take it offensively, the mistake is on your part. If you want to take it constructively, which is how I looked at it... we had a conversation over it. Man to man, we discussed it. He wasn't unhappy with me; he wasn't happy as the team wasn't winning. That is the bottom line," Dinesh Karthik said on The RK Show.

What Andre Russell said and what came out were two different things: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik also revealed that what Andre Russell actually wanted to say and what came out in the media were two completely different things. This was something that apparently played a huge part in the confusion between the duo. But Dinesh Karthik now insists that they are on excellent terms ever since they discussed the issue and that everything has been working out well since then.

"The tone of what you say to what comes out can be very different when it comes in print. He realised (that) and was a little apologetic as well. But at the end of the day, I have a great relationship with him. That makes the difference. If I didn't have a great relationship with him, I think it could have spiralled into something nasty. Because I have an honest relationship,I can go straight up to him and say, 'Russ, I don't think what you said is right, because the way it has come out is not great, so what are we going do?' And he said, 'No, skip. This is how I felt about it, not how it's come out.' So there itself half the battle is over because what he said to what people are reading are two different things," Dinesh Karthik asserted.

The IPL 2020 is set to be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 8. If KKR are to do well at the tournament, Andre Rusell will likely have to play a key role.