“For Andre Russell’s release…”- Former India star reacts to KKR’s decision ahead of IPL 2026 auction

The former Indian batter, Mohammad Kaif, has not been really happy with the decision of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release the star West Indies all-rounder, Andre Russell, ahead of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The three-time champions would go into the next action with the biggest purse, having dropped several marquee players.

The former Indian batter felt that things might have changed after the appointment of Abhishek Nayar as head coach and added that the latter would be the direct reason behind the release of Russell, insisting that the former Indian assistant coach would perhaps have wanted to work with his own side.

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“Russell’s release is not right. You had him at 12 crore, and that is not a big amount, really, for a player like him. He is a generation player. Yes, he was out of form, but later on he scored runs too. But as coaches change, they bring some changes. I think this was a big call.” Kaif expressed in the video.

Mohammad Kaif puts weight on Abhishek Nayar for release of Andre Russell before IPL 2026

Russell is the second leading run-getter of the Knight Riders in the T20 history of the event with the help of 2658 runs in 115 innings at an average of around 29 and a strike rate of 175.09 with the help of 13 half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 88 runs.

“You can say he was not at his peak, but I feel this is such a format, especially in the IPL, where experienced players do well, and there are many examples. I feel the straight answer to his release is Abhishek Nayar. He wants to make his own team now. But this was an astonishing call.” Mohammad Kaif revealed in the same video.

“The quality and power that Russell has, even four players like Cameron Green cannot cover that. The way he plays, he can hit 100m sixes as per will, and he has won so many games from situations where the game seemed lost. He got that respect because of this ability. There are very few players like him at number seven.” The former DC coach shed light.