Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore has revealed that although there were continued discussions with Andre Russell regarding his release from the franchise ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction, the idea to retire from the tournament and stay connected to the team came from co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.

Russell was released by KKR ahead of the December auction after 12 seasons with the team. While many expected Kolkata to buy him back, or for another franchise to swoop in, Russell instead stunned fans by announcing his retirement from the IPL.

Russell opened up about his unexpected call, highlighting the physical and mental demands of competing in the world’s biggest T20 league. He admitted that sustaining top performance as an all-rounder across a full season had become challenging, which

See Full Page