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Ace Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell has checked into the team hotel in Mumbai ahead of IPL 2022, starting March 26.
The franchise shared a small clip of Russell entering his hotel room on their social media handle. The West Indies cricketer was also spotted sporting purple colored hair on the back of his head.
In the video, Andre Russell can be heard saying:
"Dre Russ is here, no need to fear! See my gold and purple hair."
Incidentally, Russell was one of four cricketers retained by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction last month. Along with him, the two-time IPL champions retained Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine.
The 33-year-old was last seen in action during the Bangladesh Premier League, where he plied trade for Minister Group Dhaka. He had a mixed outing, however, and will have to up his game as KKR rely heavily on the celebrated all-rounder with both bat and ball.
Russell had a start-stop season in 2021, playing only 10 matches. He scored 183 runs at an average of 26.14 and picked up 11 wickets; however, the economy was on the higher side.
Check out the IPL 2022 Venue here.
KKR begin training for IPL 2022
The Purple Brigade have kickstarted their preparations on Monday (March 14) for the 15th edition of the tournament at the DY Patil University Ground.
However, the entire squad is yet to hit the ground as some cricketers are still in quarantine. Head coach Brendon McCullum has also joined the squad and is excited about the upcoming season.
Speaking in a video shared by KKR on their social media handles, the former Kiwi skipper said:
"It's nice to be back in familiar surroundings again here at the ITC Grand Central. Yes, the rest of the guys will come in over the next few days, some are already here now, some are still playing around the globe including the skipper, Shreyas, who is doing fantastically well at the moment."
He then went on to add:
"Look, we've got an incredibly talented squad. We have a lot of guys who we know really well and some guys who we don't know that well but I'm sure we'll get to know them and I'm really excited for the squad that we have got."
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their IPL 2022 schedule against defending champions Chennai Super Kings on March 26 at the Wankhede Stadium.
