BBL 2021-22: Andre Russell to stay two meters away from his teammates in his Stars debut game

West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is set to make his debut for the Melbourne Stars on Friday, December 10 in their match against Sydney Thunder at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. However, the Jamaican has to follow some strict set of rules before he takes the field against Chris Green’s Thunder. To start with, the veteran can’t touch his teammates.

Russell will have to enter the MCG through a different gate, use a different lift and set up in dressing rooms. At the times of warm-ups, he’ll have to stay at least two metres away from the players and support staff. His dugout will also be a different one than the rest of his teammates.

Russell can’t get involved in high fives after getting wickets and a separate microphone will be arranged for him during post-match interviews. On leaving the ground, Russell will have to stay away from his teammates and will rejoin them after seven days of quarantine.

As per reports in Fox Sports, Cricket Australia has designed the rules and communicated them to the Stars. The decision was taken keeping in mind the health and well-being of the cricketers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

I can’t wait to work with Andre Russell, says David Hussey

In the meantime, Stars’ head coach David Hussey was delighted to have Russell in the mix for the T20 championship. Blair Crouch, the Stars’ General Manager, was also over the moon after the Caribbean cricketer joined his team.

“To have someone of Andre’s quality play for the Melbourne Stars is a huge signing for our club. We want our Stars family to watch the best players in action at the MCG and Andre is world class. I can’t wait to work with him in the time that he’s here and look forward to his debut on Friday night,” Hussey was quoted as saying.

“We cannot wait to see Andre at the MCG in front of some big crowds this summer. At the Stars, we always strive to have world class players for our members and fans to admire, and Andre falls comfortably into that category. We look forward to seeing him entertain and thrill everyone, starting on Friday against the Thunder at the MCG,” Crouch said.