In a major development ahead of the announcement of the team retentions on November 15, Kolkata Knight Riders have released star all-rounder Andre Russell from their squad, ESPNCricinfo reported.
Russell has been an integral part of the Knight Riders since 2014 and has been a key performer with both bat and ball. But he has now been released and will head into the auction in mid-December as the franchises build their squad for the future.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Super Kings are in the news a lot ahead of the retention announcement. The franchise has traded Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran for Sanju Samson to the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the auction.
The Super Kings have also decided to release Matheesha Pathirana ahead of the auction.
Coming to Russell, he has played for only two franchises in the Indian cash-rich league. He was part of the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) in IPL 2012 and 2013 before moving to KKR in 2014. The West Indies all-rounder played 133 matches for the Knight Riders, scoring 2593 runs and taking 122 wickets for them in his 11-year stint with KKR.
While there is nothing clear on the reason behind Russell's exit from the Knight Riders, it could have been due to the player wanting to part ways with the franchise and looking for a bigger purse than what he was getting paid by the three-time champions. He was retained for Rs 12 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Coming to Pathirana, he wasn't at his best in IPL 2025, taking 13 wickets in 12 innings but going for 10.13 runs an over. Last year, CSK coach Stephen Fleming had stated there was an issue with his bowling action change.
"Pathirana, in South Africa, he was way off. And yes, there was an issue with his action and that might be a question for Sri Lanka Cricket," Fleming had said last year. "But we'll certainly look to try and get him back into form and get him back to what we think is his best action and his best opportunity at performing well."
