LONDON – The West Indies’ faltering World Cup campaign suffered a fresh blow on Monday as all-rounder Andre Russell was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament due to a knee injury.
Batsman Sunil Ambris will take the place of Russell, who has failed to replicate his stunning Indian Premier League (IPL) form during the World Cup in England and Wales.
“The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 has approved Sunil Ambris as a replacement player for Andre Russell in the West Indies squad for the remainder of the tournament,” the ICC said in a statement.
After just one victory in their opening six games, the West Indies need to win all of their remaining three group matches against India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals.
Russell was crowned player of the tournament in this season’s IPL, and got off to a flyer at the World Cup by taking 2/4 with the ball in a thumping seven-wicket win over Pakistan.
However, the 31-year-old took just three more wickets and posted a total of 36 runs in defeats to Australia, England and Bangladesh as he was clearly hobbled by the injury before missing Saturday’s agonising five-run loss to New Zealand.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWC19through injury. Sunil Ambris will join the West Indies squad as his replacement. #CWC19| #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/BuhWdjskzq
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup)