Florida: West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, who was ruled out from India series due to injury, played for Vancouver Knights in Global T20 Canada on Saturday.
Interestingly, the opening match between India and West Indies was also played on Saturday. However, this is not the first time when Russell opted to play franchise cricket rather than representing his country.
Russell's inclusion in Knights' playing XI was a shocker for everyone including West Indies cricketer board as just a day before the first T20I, WICB has announced his replacement citing an injury.
Injured Russell plays in GT20 match after being ruled out of India series
Jason Mohammed took Russell's place in West Indies squad for the first two T20Is, which will be played in Florida.
Andre Russell
Right-Handed Batsman Jason Mohammed took Russell's place in West Indies squad for the first two T20Is, which will be played in Florida.
Speaking about Russell, Windies T20I skipper Carlos Brathwaite said: "He doesn't think he'd be doing justice to other people who could be here and are 100%."
Russell's decision to play in Global T20 after opting out form national duties did not set well with cricket fans and they took to micro-blogging site Twitter to express their frustration.