Kolkata Knight Riders to release Andre Russell ahead of IPL mega auction

In a significant development, Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to release their star all-rounder Andre Russell ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

According to RevSportz reports, the defending champions are keen to retain four players for the 2025 season- Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and captain Shreyas Iyer, although his status is uncertain.

Harshit Rana, recently selected in the India squad for the first time, will be retained in the uncapped category.

The news that Russell is leaving the franchise is shocking. The 36-year-old has been a match-winner for the franchise over the last 11 years and was one of the top performers in the title-winning season in IPL 2024.

KKR also appointed Dwayne Bravo as a mentor after Gautam Gambhir left the team to become India’s coach.

Bravo is the most successful player in the history of the shortest format and did wonders with Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

He was part of the coaching setup, and the team made it to the semi-final. He is expected to have a similar impact in the new edition of the tournament.