Andre Russell is in danger of missing out on Kolkata Knight Riders’ retention list as the defending champions hone in on their choices ahead of the October 31 deadline.
The West Indies all-rounder has been an integral part of KKR since joining the franchise in 2014 after having spent two seasons with the Delhi Daredevils.
Russell, 36, played an important role in KKR’s title triumph this year scoring 222 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 185. He was also the joint second-highest wicket-taker for his team with 19 scalps along with Harshit Rana. Varun Chakravarthy topped the charts with 21 wickets.
He, along with Sunil Narine, were considered key players for the franchise though he has been bothered by fitness issues for the last few years. The KKR management had also shown its support for Russell when he was laid low by a knee injury ahead of IPL 2021.
This included arranging a two-month stint with some of the world’s finest trainers at NFL side Dallas Cowboys to get him back in shape before the tournament. Russell too had voiced his gratitude towards the franchise for the way they took care of him during those difficult times.
Russell is also considered very close to principal owner Shah Rukh Khan and his non-retention will come as a huge surprise. He had been part of the core decision-making group at Knight Riders for several years.
Russell’s winning mindset and ability to adapt to different situations always give him an advantage over his teammates. Besides being a destructive finisher, he has also consistently bowled with zeal at the death.
A senior KKR official confirmed that “lots were happening” behind the scenes though he refused to confirm any details.
Not just Russell, KKR are also unlikely to retain IPL’s most expensive buy, Mitchell Starc, who went for ₹24.75 crore at the last auction. There is also a lot of uncertainty
over IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer.
Sources told The Telegraph that given the dynamics of the IPL retention policy, KKR are expected to keep Rinku Singh, Narine, Varun and Phil Salt. Harshit Rana will
be the uncapped retention for ₹4 crore.
The franchise is also very keen on Ramandeep Singh, who performed creditably at the recent Emerging Asia Cup, but how they accommodate him in the circumstances remains to be seen.
KKR could use the Right to Match card to regain Russell depending on how the auction unfolds. The Jamaican was the highest capped player retained by them at ₹12 crore during the last mega auction in 2022.
The franchise has appointed Dwayne Bravo as mentor following the departure of Gautam Gambhir. Bravo, a hugely successful player in T20s for the West Indies and CSK, could also be keen on getting Russell back in the fold by using the RTM option.
KKR are known to make bold moves at such mega auctions in an effort to maintain the desired balance in the squad and promote youngsters. They released Shubman Gill in 2022 and even sacrificed Suryakumar Yadav four years earlier.
A franchise can retain up to six players — including a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped Indians.
The IPL governing council increased the purse for the mega auction to ₹120 crore while setting various retention slabs — ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore, and ₹11 crore for the first three capped players, ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore for the next two. The franchises, however, are allowed to divide the capped retention purse of ₹75 crore among five capped players as they wish.
KKR are learnt to be not very keen to offer the highest retention slab to Shreyas and that hasn’t gone down well with him. In that case, he might find himself back in the auction pool.
There’s talk that Shreyas is being wooed by two other franchises with attractive offers. One thing is certain, KKR won’t go out of its way to retain Shreyas.
It’s still not clear who will lead KKR in Shreyas’ absence. It is understood that the management is keeping its options open and could decide upon a leader once the squad is shortlisted.
Pooran for LSG
While there’s speculation over Russell, another West Indian Nicholas Pooran was confirmed by Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. The cricketer visited the RPSG House
in Alipore in the afternoon and agreed to ₹18 crore, the highest price slab for the No.1 retention.
LSG have already decided to release their captain KL Rahul this season.
