Andre Russell, the IPL's most destructive, impactful and valuable player
SAURABH SOMANI
2:35 AM GMT4 Minute Read
Andre Russell: can wrest the game from the opposition's hands in an over
AFP
We look at the six most impactful players in the history of the IPL using ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats tool (min qualification 60 matches). Also check out ranks No. 6, No. 5, No. 4, No. 3 and No. 2
Andre Russell
Rank: 1
When the history of T20 cricket is written, Andre Russell will deserve a a tome to himself, with a few chapters devoted only to his batting. In T20 cricket, there isn't another player like him. Kieron Pollard may come close, but in the IPL nobody can touch Russell.
And data only corroborates what fans intuitively understand about Russell's impact on matches. Has Russell got runs against the opposition's best bowler? Has he bowled with an economy rate of less than nine in a match where both teams made 200? Has he had to chase down 50 in the last three overs more than once?
ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats runs on an evolved algorithm capturing a T20 game's every dynamic movement, ball by ball, and it tells us that out of the 64 games he has played in the IPL, Russell has had the top impact value in 17. He is the most impactful performer once every 3.8 matches, 25% better than the second-placed Chris Gayle, who achieves the same every 5.1 matches (among players who have played at least 60 IPL games). Among the elite of the elite T20 players, that is a massive margin.
How is Impact calculated?
ESPNcricinfo Ltd
In addition, Russell has the highest impact per match in absolute terms too - of any player, active or retired. He has often turned matches around with the bat, although he makes significant contributions with the ball too. And advanced as it is, even our algorithm can't calculate the errors Russell forces bowlers to make, whether it be extras conceded while trying to perfect the wide yorker or trying to hustle an extra yard of pace.
In terms of only batting impact per match, Russell is eighth on the all-time list. Ahead of him are Gayle, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler, Virender Sehwag and Shaun Marsh, each of those a top-order batsman. The median value of when Russell has come in to bat in an IPL game is the 14th over. The next highest non-top-order batsman in this list is Glenn Maxwell, ranked 22.
Is it any wonder that there is a clamour to see him bat higher up the order?
He bowls less often now, but when his knees aren't troubling him, Russell the bowler is quite a handful too.
Andre Russell, the IPL's most destructive, impactful and valuable player SAURABH SOMANI 2:35 AM GMT4 Minute Read
Andre Russell: can wrest the game from the opposition's hands in an over AFP We look at the six most impactful players in the history of the IPL using ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats tool (min qualification 60 matches). Also check out ranks No. 6, No. 5, No. 4, No. 3 and No. 2
Andre Russell Rank: 1
When the history of T20 cricket is written, Andre Russell will deserve a a tome to himself, with a few chapters devoted only to his batting. In T20 cricket, there isn't another player like him. Kieron Pollard may come close, but in the IPL nobody can touch Russell.
And data only corroborates what fans intuitively understand about Russell's impact on matches. Has Russell got runs against the opposition's best bowler? Has he bowled with an economy rate of less than nine in a match where both teams made 200? Has he had to chase down 50 in the last three overs more than once?
ESPNcricinfo's Smart Stats runs on an evolved algorithm capturing a T20 game's every dynamic movement, ball by ball, and it tells us that out of the 64 games he has played in the IPL, Russell has had the top impact value in 17. He is the most impactful performer once every 3.8 matches, 25% better than the second-placed Chris Gayle, who achieves the same every 5.1 matches (among players who have played at least 60 IPL games). Among the elite of the elite T20 players, that is a massive margin.
How is Impact calculated? ESPNcricinfo Ltd In addition, Russell has the highest impact per match in absolute terms too - of any player, active or retired. He has often turned matches around with the bat, although he makes significant contributions with the ball too. And advanced as it is, even our algorithm can't calculate the errors Russell forces bowlers to make, whether it be extras conceded while trying to perfect the wide yorker or trying to hustle an extra yard of pace.
In terms of only batting impact per match, Russell is eighth on the all-time list. Ahead of him are Gayle, David Warner, Rishabh Pant, AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler, Virender Sehwag and Shaun Marsh, each of those a top-order batsman. The median value of when Russell has come in to bat in an IPL game is the 14th over. The next highest non-top-order batsman in this list is Glenn Maxwell, ranked 22.
Is it any wonder that there is a clamour to see him bat higher up the order?
He bowls less often now, but when his knees aren't troubling him, Russell the bowler is quite a handful too.