ANDRE RUSSELL

While Bangladesh and BCB XI were locked in a warm-up battle at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium here yesterday, West Indies held a practice session at the nearby indoor facilities, with some players peeping into the ground to catch a slice of the action in the middle.
One of them was talented all-rounder Andre Russell who was part of the influx of one-day specialists brought in after West Indies won the Test series 2-0.
West Indies are scheduled to play their only warm-up game against the BCB XI today before the ODI series gets underway on Friday. Russell, a fast-bowling all-rounder unlucky not to hold a regular place in a rapidly improving outfit full of stars, fronted up to the press to answer some questions.
"Winning the Test series will motivate us going into the ODI series," said Russell when asked whether the Test victory would be a boost. "We hope to have a good start, winning the first one or the first two and get the momentum going into the third game. It's going to be a different environment, different type of wickets in Dhaka. The guys coming in, myself and others, when we play tomorrow [Wednesday] in the practice game, we will try and get used to the conditions as soon as possible."
The home team's talismanic all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's absence through injury in the first two matches will have an impact, Russell thought. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to make as much out of the first two games. He is a great all-rounder, a very good bowler and a very good batsman. The team [Bangladesh] will miss him, both areas, batting and bowling. But there are going to be other bowlers, so we can't take anything for granted."
Russell was also of the opinion that Bangladesh were a more formidable prospect in limited-overs cricket. "Definitely, I think they are a better ODI team than a Test team because they have a lot of all-rounders. They are a good, fighting team. You can't relax, they keep you on your feet and they just keep coming."
As for the West Indies, they are a force to be reckoned with in limited-overs cricket, according to Russell. "I think in the one-day format, we have a very good all-round team. And all-rounders are very important, in any form of the game. More all-rounders mean more options and the team is more balanced. The one-day team is looking very good on paper. We have to go out there and get the job done."