Andre Russell becomes sixth WI bowler to 50 T20I wickets
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has raced to 50 wickets in the T20I format. He accomplished the milestone with his first wicket in Match 2 of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup against Papua New Guinea in Guyana. Russell has become just the sixth WI bowler to complete a half-century of T20I scalps. Russell claimed 2/19 from three overs against PNG on Sunday.
50 T20I wickets for Russell
Playing his 76th T20I, Russell now owns 51 scalps at 33.17. His economy rate is 9.43. Dwayne Bravo (78), Jason Holder (66), Samuel Badree (54), Sunil Narine (52), and Sheldon Cottrell (52) are the other WI bowlers with 50-plus T20I wickets. Playing his 23rd ICC T20 World Cup match, Russell owns 20 scalps at an average of 23.75 (ER: 8.55).
450 wickets in T20 cricket for Russell
With his two wickets versus PNG, Russell surpassed 450 wickets in T20 cricket. As per ESPNcricinfo, Russell now has 451 wickets from 498 matches at 25.10. He has become the sixth bowler in T20 cricket history to claim 450-plus scalps.
Russell returned to T20I team last year
Russell made a return to WI's T20I side in December last year, having last represented the team at the 2021 ICC T20 WC. Although Russell has won two T20 WCs with WI (2012 and 2016), he has not been regularly available for WI due to his differences with the board. Notably, he was in red-hot form in the recently-concluded 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).