Andre Russell spent 11 years with KKR, scoring over 2600 runs and pick 120-plus wickets before being released last Sundar. (BCCI)Two-time Indian Premier League winner Andre Russell announced his retirement from the tournament on Sunday, the last day for players to register for the next auction to be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.
Russell, who won the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014 and 2024, had not been retained by the franchise, but will be part of their support staff as the ‘power coach.’ The Jamaican, however, said that he would continue to play in other leagues around the world.
“I’ve made a decision to retire from the IPL. I’ll still be active playing in various leagues all around the world and all the other KKR franchises. I had some amazing time and great memories. hitting sixes, winning games, MVP and all of those things. But sometimes you just have to know when to hang up the boots,” Russell said in a video message.
“When I made this decision, I just felt like ‘yes, this is the best decision’. I don’t want to fade out. I want to leave a legacy and it’s best to retire when fans ask ‘why, you still have some more in you, you still could go for a bit longer’ than say, ‘yeah, you should have done it years back’.
Russell was the IPL’s Most Valuable Player in 2019, and won 16 Player-of-the-Match awards at KKR, and would now look to contribute in another capacity.
“Kolkata, I’ll be back. I’m here now just to say that I’ll be a part of the KKR support staff. When I heard that name, I said, ‘power coach, hmmm’. That describes Dre Russ because the power that I possess when I bat, the energy that I show in the field, with the ball in hand, I can help in any department.”
Russell is one of only two players in IPL history to score more than 2,000 runs and take in excess of 100 wickets, Ravindra Jadeja being the other one. In 133 appearances for KKR, the West Indian’s strike rate has been 174.96 and he has hit 220 sixes.
The franchise has revamped its backroom staff, with Abhishek Nayar replacing Chandrakant Pandit as head coach. Tim Southee is the new bowling coach and Shane Watson the assistant coach. Dwayne Bravo stays as the team mentor.
Going into the auction, KKR will have the biggest purse with INR 64.3 crore available, but with just 12 players currently on their roster, they have a lot of slots to fill.
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