Andre Russell had sleepless nights after release from KKR, SRK suggested him a comeback as support staff
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Former KKR all-rounder Andre Russell's sudden release by the Kolkata Knight Riders, followed by his subsequent retirement announcement, shocked the entire cricket fraternity.
A true legend of the format cannot go down without a murmur, and CEO Venky Mysore has now revealed that his return to KKR as a support staff was after the former West Indian cricketer started having sleepless nights following his release.
Russell has played 12 years of cricket with the Kolkata Knight Riders since he joined the franchise back in 2014 under Gautam Gambhir, when KKR won their second IPL trophy. The third win for KKR in 2024 also came with Russell in the side.
Venky Mysore revealed why Andre Russell's release was of immense value to KKR
Mysore said that while Andre Russell's contract value stood at INR 12 crores, his release would have meant an addition of INR 18 crores to KKR's purse since he was of that value in the last auction.
“Some people missed the fundamental point, which is the [purse] deduction for us was 18 crore, not 12 crore by releasing Dre,” he said. “Although his contract value was 12 crore, the deduction from our purse was 18 crore in 2025. A lot of people missed that and said, oh, why would KKR not see value in a person who is at 12 crores? 18 crores, which would be deducted from our purse if we had reattained him, is a lot of money in the context of an auction. That was the trigger.”
Mysore revealed the importance of the upcoming mini-auction for the Knight Riders and said that teams need to have maximum flexibility in the mini-auctions.
“In mini-auctions, you want to go with as much as you can to have the flexibility to look at options that might come your way. So from that perspective, if it was 12 crore, I think the decision would’ve been very different,” he added.
Mysore reveals a change in the equation had Andre Russell's worth been lower
After the 18 crore remark, Mysore was questioned: had Russell been valued for just INR 12 crores, then would he have been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders? Mysore revealed that the entire equation would have been different under such a scenario.
“It would have made a huge difference. Although 12 cr is still a lot, but could we get a player of his quality for 12 cr in the auction? It's very unlikely in a mini auction. But releasing 18 cr from the auction purse, it's a fair amount of money.”
The KKR CEO further stressed that the decision to release Andre Russell was not a last-minute call but a late announcement after they explored all possibilities and alternatives over an extended period of time.
“When you put someone in an auction, you have to go with an assumption you may not be able to get a player back. So if that's the case, then what are your options? How do you resolve it? What's your structure? All those discussions happen. In the days leading up to the retention deadline, we made the call,” he concluded.
Mysore makes a massive revelation about Andre Russell's sleepless nights
Having played for so many years in the KKR deck, a release was what had emotionally shaken Andre Russell. Even the mightiest of men has a trembling heart, and Russell, too, looked unsettled with the developments.
“He said, ‘wow, never been in an auction since 2014.’… It hit him after a couple of days. He came back to me and said, ‘oh, I've really had a lot of sleepless nights wondering about where all of this could go. I'm so used to the purple and gold, Knight Riders and the relationships I have built with the franchise, you and the owners,” Russell said as revealed by Venky Mysore.
The CEO also disclosed that during the conversations with SRK, the discussions around Andre Russell were resurfaced, and it was then, as per the KKR co-owners' suggestion, that Andre Russell was offered a role in the support staff.
“Somewhere that conversation [retiring from IPL] did come up as an option and he gave it more thought. For a variety of reasons, it appealed to him and said, yeah, why not? Let's do this.” According to Mysore, it was SRK who suggested that a coaching role in the KKR setup could be the best way forward.
“I could see he was agonising over it, and when I shared this with SRK, it was actually SRK's suggestion of offering Russell a coaching role. Because, see, a player is thinking somewhere at the back of his mind, what happens after I hang up my boots? But I don't think they want to think about it also so much because professional athletes are like that. They believe I'm still good, and Dre still is – he is fantastic and playing other leagues.”
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