Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be retiring their no.12 jersey to honour their legendary all-rounder Andre Russell. The team made the announcement at the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event. KKR released him from their squad after a tough last season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Following the release, Russell announced his retirement from the league. In 2025, the all-rounder featured in 13 matches for KKR and could only score 167 runs and took eight wickets.
In all, the Jamaican has played 140 matches in the league and amassed 2,651 runs and claimed 123 wickets. He is one of the two players in the league's history to to have scored over 2000 runs and picked 100 wickets.
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He first played in the league in 2012 when he featured for Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals). In his two-year stay with the Daredevils, he played only seven games. Ahead of the 2014 season, Russell moved to KKR where he enjoyed tremendous success. 2022 was his most productive season as an all-rounder in the IPL as he scored 335 and picked 17 wickets.
The most runs he ever scored in an IPL season was 2019 when he amassed 510 runs in 14 games at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 204.81. As a bowler, his most productive year was 2024, the year KKR won its third IPL title. That season he claimed 19 wickets in 15 matches at at an average of 15.52 and an economy of 10.05.
Russell also became a fan favourite at KKR for his explosive six-hitting. His tally of 223 sixes in the IPL is the seventh-highest in the tournament's history.
The 2026 season of the IPL commences from March 28 with the match between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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