Andre Russell continued his association with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and he was among the players retained by them before the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Before the retention day, there were reports that KKR could release Russell but that didn't happen. The star all-rounder has been with KKR since 2014 and will once again play for the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise.
A week after the IPL 2025 mega-auction, inside information has revealed a big sacrifice made by Russell. Speaking to R Ashwin on his YouTube channel, cricket data analyst Prasanna revealed that Russell made a financial sacrifice to stay with KKR. Prasanna is a veteran in Indian cricket and he has worked in IPL for over a decade.
"A franchise asked Russell to ask for release and be available in the auction. They also promised him a big amount of money, but Russell kept saying to them – KKR man, KKR man, KKR man," Prasanna revealed.
Russell has been one of the longest-serving players for KKR. With 2426 runs, Russell is KKR's third-highest run-scorer in IPL. With 114 scalps, he sits at the second spot in the list of bowlers with the most wickets for KKR in IPL.
Russell was retained for Rs 12 crore. Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh were KKR's other retentions.
Who will lead Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025?
Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer are two strong contenders who can lead KKR in IPL 2025. Rahane joined KKR at his base price of Rs 1.50 crore. He has captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the T20 league. Under him, RR reached the second round of IPL 2018.
Venkatesh has never done captaincy in IPL. KKR were keen to re-sign him in the mega-auction and bought him for Rs 23.75 crore. He has been playing for KKR since 2021.