The love story between IPL and Andre Russell comes to an end as the veteran power hitter and the stalwart of KKR has decided to take retirement from the IPL and joined the KKR dugout as a power coach. Two weeks ago, when the retention list came out in public, it left the fans shocked when they saw Dre Russ had been released by KKR after 10 seasons.
Russell’s IPL journey started in 2012 with the Delhi Daredevils, and he became part of the KKR setup in 2014. He was part of KKR's title-winning teams in 2014 and 2024, and was also the IPL's Most Valuable Player in 2019. Russell had won 16 IPL Man of the Match trophies.
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Talking about his retirement in an Instagram video, "I've decided 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 an 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. When I made this decision, I just felt like 'yes, this is the best decision'. I don't want to fade out."
He added, "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 continued,"We are part of the Instagram world, so when you're going through your feed, you keep seeing yourself in different jerseys and, you know, friends, team-mates sending you stuff and, like, 'you're looking good in this jersey, what do you think' and I'm like, 'hmmm, I look weird in that jersey'. And it's just those thoughts that have been going through my head. I had a few sleepless nights. There have been a lot of conversations between me and Mr Venky Mysore, and also Mr Shah Rukh Khan, about another chapter in my IPL journey, and they have shown me respect and love and they appreciate whatever I have been doing in the field, and to be in a set-up where I'm familiar, that matters to me a lot."
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SRK shares memories
Shah Rukh Khan also shared his video and took his pen to send a heartfelt message on X (formerly Twitter), "Thank you for the wonderful memories, Andre. Our Knight in shining armour.”
Russell joined the elite list of KKR coaching staff, which will be headed by Abhishke Nayar. The list also includes Watson, Tim Southee, and Dwayne Bravo.
KKR will enter the auction with the highest purse of INR 64,3 crore. Russell announced his retirement on Sunday, which is also the last day of player registration for the Auction, which is going to be held on 16th December in Abu Dhabi.
