IPL 2025: Dwayne Bravo protects Andre Russell from criticism but throws Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine under the bus

Dwayne Bravo protects Andre Russell from criticism but throws Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine under the bus (IPL Photo)

After Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lost to Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2025 on Monday, coach Dwayne Bravo threw his support behind all-rounder Andre Russell. The all-rounder scored a sluggish 21 off 15 balls, who scored just his second double-digit score of the season. After the match, Bravo was questioned about Russell's problems in IPL 2025, especially against spinners. Bravo, however, downplayed the discussions by claiming that Russell isn't the only player at KKR having trouble scoring runs.

"Andre Russell is an experienced and successful player. Yes, in a couple of games, the leg-spinners got him out. But I don't think we are batting well as a team. That is the reality. Russell is not the only one struggling. As a group, we have to ensure players are backed. We need to keep preparing well. IPL is a tough tournament. If you don't start well, batters can go into a period where they lose confidence," said Bravo, who is a four-time IPL winner.

Bravo lamented that finishers like Russell and Rinku Singh have had a harder time this season since KKR's top order hasn't produced strong starts. "Not every team has leg-spinners and today (Monday) he was up against a quality spinner like Rashid Khan. When Russell walks in to bat, every time the run rate is at 14 or 15 runs per over. Work needs to be done at the top to give him a chance to finish off games like he has been doing all these years for KKR. Yes, leg-spinners got him out a few times, but I don't think that is a big concern. We just need to bat better (at the top) to allow our finishers the chance to finish games," he added.

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After the 39-run loss to GT, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, who produced a valiant half-century, his third of the season, also blamed the batters. "When you are chasing a big target, you expect a good start with your opening batters; that's what we are looking to get better as a batting unit," he said. "No complaints with our bowlers, I thought bowlers are doing a really good job. Game by game, they are improving a lot.

"We know these conditions really well, [but] we need to bat properly, we need to bat well in the middle overs, that's what we are struggling [with] as a batting unit."