New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) West Indies all-rounder and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) power hitter Andre Russell announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the mini auction slated for December 16 but added that he would join the three-time champions as the power coach.

The Windies batter announced his decision via a video message he shared on his social media with a caption, “Hanging up my IPL boots… but not the swagger. What a ride it’s been in the IPL — 12 seasons of memories and a whole lot of love from the KKR family.”

“I’ll still be smashing sixes and taking wickets in every other league around the world. And the best part? I’m not leaving home… you’ll see me in a new role, in KKR’s Support Staff, as the POWER COACH of 2026. New chapter. Same energy. Forever a Knight.”

In 12 IPL season, Russell played 140 matches, scoring 2651 runs at a strike rate of 174.18 and took 123 wickets at an economy of 9.51 with a best bowling figure of 5 for 15.

He made his IPL debut in 2012 with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) before moving to KKR in 2014. He then went to play 133 matches for the Kolkata-based franchise, winning two titles (2014 and 2024) along the way.

“I had some amazing times 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. 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,’ rather than say, ‘Yeah, you should have done it years back.’

“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’s been going through my head.

“I had a few sleepless nights. There have been a lot of conversations between me and Venky Mysore, and also 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 setup where I’m familiar, that matters to me a lot.

“So Kolkata, I’ll be back. I’m here now just to say that I’ll be a part of the KKR support staff. When I heard that name, you know, coming from Venky, I said, you know, ‘power coach, hmmm’. That describes Dre Russ. That describes Andre Russell, because the power that I possess when I bat, the energy that I show in the field, with the ball in hand, I can help in any department.”

Russell had been retained ahead of the mega auction before last season for Rs. 12 crore, but KKR released him after a poor outing in IPL 2025. He scored just 167 runs in 13 innings and picked up eight wickets.

–IANS

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