West Indies cricketer Andre Russell has signed up with the Melbourne Stars for the 11th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).The experienced all-rounder is presently completing his 72 hours quarantine period after flying into Sydney. Haris Rauf, the Pakistan fast bowler, has also been added to the squad. Rauf will play his first game of the tournament on December 27 and remain with the side for the rest of the season. General Manager of the Melbourne Stars outfit, Blair Crouch said that he is eager to see Andre Russell in action at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Adding that the Stars always strive to get the best players on board, Crouch concluded by stating that he is looking forward to see Russell entertaining the fans.
"We've had a lot of injuries, a lot of guys yet to turn up," Stars captain Glenn Maxwell said after the heavy loss against Sydney Sixers. "It's just put us behind where we would like to be for round one, but you can't win the tournament from round one. We're hoping (Marcus Stoinis) is going to be back next week. We've got (Nathan) Coulter-Nile, Joe Burns, Qais Ahmad... another overseas signing (Russell), so we've got plenty of options," he added.Russell previously played 19 matches for Thunder across three seasons from 2014 to 2017. His last game for Thunder was in January 2017 when he was stretched off the field after hurting his hamstring in the match versus Stars. In total, he has compiled 296 runs from 17 innings at an impressive strike rate of 166.29 in the BBL. He has also bagged 23 wickets.
