Andre Russell’s KKR chapter ends, franchise releases star all-rounder before IPL 2026 auction

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has made a surprising decision by letting go of dynamic all-rounder Andre Russell ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Russell, who signed a contract with the team for Rs 12 million, was not retained along with Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali and Anrich Nortje.

Russell, who joined KKR in 2014, emerged as one of the team’s key match-winners and played a crucial role in their title journey. In fact, in 2020, CEO Venky Mysore had stated that Russell would remain with the team until his retirement from T20 cricket, but a decade later, KKR chose to part ways with the Jamaican all-rounder.

Knight Riders also dropped Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Spencer Johnson as part of a significant squad revamp that left the franchise with a significant Rs 64.3 crore budget ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. With such a significant amount available, KKR has the potential to re-sign Andre Russell, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket.

IPL Retention 2026: Complete list of Gujarat Titans retained and released players

Additionally, KKR further strengthened their budget by releasing Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought for Rs 23.75 million at the auction, positioning them to have the largest financial resources going into the mini-auction.

Throughout his extensive IPL career, Andre Russell has been one of Kolkata Knight Riders’ most explosive and influential players. He has participated in over 133 matches since his arrival in the series, scoring 2,593 runs at an average of 28.81 and a strike rate of 174.97.

Known for his incredible strength, he showcased his ability to hit the ball to all areas of the field by notching a remarkable 20-ball fifty for KKR against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in 2024. He scored 510 runs, including 52 sixes, and took 11 wickets in the 2019 season, but KKR failed to qualify for the play-offs.

List of players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders – Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy

List of players released by Kolkata Knight Riders – Andre Russel (Rs 12 Crore), Venkatesh Iyer (Rs 23.75 Crore), Quinton de Kock (3.6 Crore), Moeen Ali (2 Crore), Anrich Nortje (6.5 Crore), Spencer Johnson (2.80 Crore), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2 Crore)

Also read| IPL Retention 2026: Complete list of players retained and released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru