‘International cricket is the number one thing for me’ - Finn Allen on balancing leagues, Russell’s influence

Finn Allen, the New Zealand top-order batter, has highlighted the value of working alongside Andre Russell during the IPL 2026 season at Kolkata Knight Riders. The 27-year-old, who last played a T20 International on March 8, 2026, against India, spent time with the West Indies all-rounder during the tournament earlier this year.

Allen and Russell discussed swing, base and power hitting during their time together at KKR. Russell, born April 29, 1988, is regarded as one of the world's most accomplished power hitters across his illustrious T20 career.

"He has had a pretty illustrious career, and he's very experienced and one of the hardest hitters of all time. So working with him was pretty cool. Yeah, we just talked mainly about swing and things like that, and the flow of that swing being really important. And I guess he didn't want to tinker with too much, which was nice. We would just generally have conversations around base and power hitting and things like that, which is obviously one of the best in the world we're ever at," Allen was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Balancing leagues and international cricket

Balancing league and international cricket remains a complex challenge for modern players. Allen acknowledged the difficulty of navigating the crowded cricket calendar while maintaining his commitment to New Zealand's international programme.

"It's obviously it's a difficult one to navigate at times because there's so much cricket on now. It just depends on your priorities. And I think, with New Zealand cricket now, we've got a really good system in place that lets us be flexible with both. The way that Rob Walter has been coming in as a coach has been really good. His communication is awesome," Allen said.

Allen praises Kishan and Sooryavanshi's T20 talent

Read More

Allen praises Kishan and Sooryavanshi's T20 talent

"And I know that for guys like me and Seifert, who want to play as many tournaments as we can and play international cricket, it's hard to navigate. But I think we've been doing it really well at the moment. And yeah, it's still international cricket that's the number one thing for me and wanting to win a World Cup is my main priority. So again, it's just ongoing conversations to make sure we can navigate that in the right way. And yeah, hopefully bring one of those trophies home one day," he added.

Allen remains in ongoing conversations with New Zealand Cricket about balancing his league and international commitments. Rob Walter, New Zealand's coach, has improved communication with players like Allen and fellow batter Seifert regarding their participation in both domestic leagues and international tournaments.