Andre Russell has surprised everyone by retiring from IPL. Andre Russell, who has been playing for Kolkata Knight Riders since 2014, was not retained by KKR before the upcoming season (IPL 2026). Russell is a great all-rounder, so it was believed that there could be a tough competition in the auction among all the franchises to include him in their team. But even before that, Russell has announced his retirement from IPL.

Before the IPL 2026 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders had retained only 12 players. The most surprising thing was that the name of Andre Russell, who was known as the poster boy of KKR, was not there in it. Andre Russell announced his retirement from IPL and shared a video, which featured some of his memorable moments spent in KKR. Along with this it was told that he will be seen in a new role in KKR in IPL 2026.

Andre Russell retired from IPL

Andre Russell wrote, “Retiring from IPL, but not giving up the swag. Had a great IPL career, memories of 12 seasons, and a lot of love from the KKR family. I will keep hitting sixes and taking wickets in other cricket leagues of the world.”

Russell further wrote, “And what’s the best thing? That I am not leaving home. You will see me in a new role, in the support staff of KKR, as the power coach of 2026. New chapter, new energy. Always for the Knights.”

Andre Russell’s IPL career

Andre Russell was known as the poster boy of KKR, so many people would be surprised to know that Russell started his IPL career by playing for Delhi Capitals. He played for Delhi in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, he joined KKR and since then has become a special member of this team.

• Andre Russell for DC – 7 matches, 58 runs and 1 wicket
• Andre Russell for KKR – 133 matches, 2593 runs and 122 wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

• How many players did KKR retain?- 12 (2 foreigners)
• Total expenditure on retained players- Rs 60.70 crore
• Available balance of KKR in IPL 2026 auction- Rs 64.30 crore

KKR’s retained players: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakraborty.

The auction for the Indian Premier League 2026 will take place on 16 December. Andre Russell’s name will also be among the players on whom bidding will be done on this day. Russell, who has been the poster boy of Kolkata Knight Riders for many years, has been released by KKR. This was the most surprising thing in the retention of all the teams. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that the reason behind this is the head coach of KKR, who wants to form his new team.

While talking about retention on YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif alleged that Abhishek Nair was the direct reason for KKR releasing Andre Russell. Let us tell you that the Kolkata team has also made many changes in its coaching department before IPL 2026. Abhishek was elected head coach and Shane Watson was made assistant coach. Tim Saudi has been appointed bowling coach.

what did mohammed kaif say

Kaif said, “It is not right to release Russell. You bought him for Rs 12 crore and it was not a big amount for a player like him. Only one player like him comes in this era. Yes, he was not in form, but later he also scored runs. But as coaches change, they bring some changes. I think it was a big decision.”

Kaif further said, “You can say that Russell was not at his peak yet, but I think this is a format, especially in IPL, where experienced players perform well and there are many examples of this. I think the direct answer to his release is Abhishek Nair. He wants to build his own team now. But it was a surprising decision.”

Andre Russell’s IPL career

Many people may think that Andre Russell has been playing for KKR since the beginning in IPL. Actually he had become a poster boy of the KKR team, although it was not so. He started his IPL career by playing in Delhi Capitals. He was a part of Delhi in 2012 and 2013, in 2014 KKR included him in their team and then he played for the same team till 2025.

Andre Russell has played a total of 140 matches in IPL, in which he has scored 2651 runs. Russell has scored 12 half-centuries in IPL. Russell has taken a total of 123 wickets in IPL. It will be interesting to see which team Andre Russell joins in the upcoming IPL season, or whether he will return to KKR. Let us tell you that KKR has the biggest purse in the IPL auction.

Before the auction for IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders have retained 12 players including Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane. The most surprising thing in KKR’s retention list is that they have also released their poster boy Andre Russell. Russell has been playing for this team since 2014. KKR has released a total of 9 players.

List of retained players of KKR

• Rinku Singh
• Angrish Raghuvanshi
• Ajinkya Rahane
• Manish Pandey
• rovman powell
• Sunil Narine
• Ramandeep Singh
• Anukul Roy
• Varun Chakraborty
• Harshit Rana
• Vaibhav Arora
• Umran Malik

KKR released these players

• Lavneeth Sisodia
• quinton dekock
• Rehmanullah Gurbaz
• Venkatesh Iyer
• andre russell
• Moeen Ali
• spencer johnson
• Enrique Norkhia
• Chetan Sakariya

UNPRECEDENTED!!! pic.twitter.com/QXGY3qXUqz

— KnightRidersXtra (@KKR_Xtra) November 15, 2025

How much purse does KKR have in IPL 2026 auction?

Kolkata Knight Riders has released many of its expensive players, the name of Venkatesh Iyer is also included in it. Venkatesh was bought by KKR in the last auction for Rs 23.75 crore. The other expensive player to be released is Russell, who was retained by KKR for Rs 12 crore before the last edition.

KKR has also released Quinton de Kock, who was priced at Rs 3.6 crore. This is also a surprising decision, because the team has also released the second wicket keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz along with him. Now KKR will be looking for a good wicket keeper in the auction.

Kolkata Knight Riders are left with a purse of Rs 64.3 crore in the IPL 2026 auction. There are slots left for 13 players, which means KKR can buy a maximum of 13 players in the auction. The team can buy maximum 6 foreign players.

When will IPL 2026 auction take place?

The auction for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League will be held in December, it will be a mini auction which is likely to last for 1 day. IPL auction is likely to take place on December 15. Its venue is under consideration, it can also happen outside India in UAE. However, the venue has not been decided yet.