IPL 2025: Andre Russell rejected big-money deal to leave KKR, stayed loyal to franchise
Published - 02 Dec 2024, 11:34 PM | Updated - 02 Dec 2024, 11:35 PM
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Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell was offered a huge amount of money by an IPL franchise but the Carribean player proved his loyalty for the team. As per the analyst Prasanna, it is learned that a team repeatedly told Russell to not get retained.
Prasanna, in an interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, revealed that the franchise promised Andre Russell a huge amount of money if he came to the auction and ditched Kolkata Knight Riders.
A franchise asked Russell to ask for release and be available in the auction
However, the all-rounder didn't agree. Russell kept saying 'KKR man, KKR man, KKR man' repeatedly. Speaking about the same, he stated: “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..”
Here's the video:
“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..”
— KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe) December 2, 2024
🎥 Ashwin's YouTube channel
pic.twitter.com/sxNtReBTvu
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) retentions, there were a lot of reports which claimed that Russell wouldn't be retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders. However, at the last minute, it was finalized that the all-rounder would be staying with the team.
Andre Russell was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 12 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction
Andre Russell was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 12 crore. The all-rounder, along with Rinku Singh (Rs 13 crore), Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, and Ramandeep Singh (Rs 4 crore each), were the six players that the franchise kept with them ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction.
Andre Russell has been KKR's talisman for more than one decade. He has, from time to time, delivered for the team with the bat and ball. The all-rounder, too, has got a lot of backing from the franchise as they were the ones who took care of him when he was injured during his playing days.
Andre Russell joined Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and has been the mainstay of the team in the IPL
Russell joined Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and since he has been the mainstay of the team with bat and ball. Overall he has played 127 games, out of which 120 came for the winners of the Indian Premier League 2024.
The all-rounder has scored around 2,500 runs in the process at a staggering strike rate of 174.92. With the ball, he has picked 114 wickets for them and has been part of an IPL-winning team twice for the franchise, in 2014 and 2024.
Kolkata Knight Riders, in the IPL 2024 auction, added some big names to their team. Andre Russell will be one of the key players for the team yet again going into the next season, as the franchise will be looking to defend their title.
