There was speculation that Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell might be forced to retire; However, the leading all-rounder has finally revealed the main reason for leaving one of the biggest leagues of world cricket.
Andre Russell, the legendary West Indies all-rounder and one of the greatest T20 players by global standards, has announced his retirement from the IPL. The 37-year-old, who perhaps did not have a good season last season, was released by the Knight Riders but was confirmed to have bagged another deal in the mini-auction.
Despite the anticipation surrounding his release, Russell decided to bid farewell to the IPL. However, he continues to play franchise cricket in several other leagues in different countries. Furthermore, he will still be seen in the KKR shirt, as he has joined them as a power coach and advisor.
Andre Russell reveals the truth behind his IPL retirement
Many questions were raised when Andre Russell decided not to include himself in the IPL auction list and instead announced his retirement from the premier competition. After much speculation, Russell has finally revealed the real reason behind this tough call.
“It’s based on the number of games and the travel. You have to make sure you recover as well as possible to stay fresh and manage your body, practice sessions and your workload in the gym. You definitely need to practise, you need to go to the gym, but also make sure you don’t do too much,” Russell told Cricbuzz.
He said, “With a big league like IPL, it is always challenging for me as an all-rounder. And I can only speak on my own behalf, because batting, bowling and then making sure you do some catching and fielding – it is always challenging. I think this league is so big that you always want to make sure that your best performance is always with you.”
Andre Russell is against specialist roles in T20 cricket
To refute the above reason, many may believe that Russell could have limited his role to batting in the KKR setup, which would have prolonged his stint in the IPL. But the West Indies all-rounder never opted to play just a specialist role as a batsman.
“I never thought about it, because I think my batting complements my bowling and my bowling complements my batting. I’m always looking forward to bowling at least two overs in a game. I feel if I’m bowling well, my batting will flow automatically, and that’s very important for me,” Russell said.
He said, “If I was just a batsman from the beginning of my career, I would probably think the same way in terms of my career and everything, but I can’t see myself playing just as an impact player or just batting and hitting sixes. I have to be fair to what I enjoy doing, which is both batting and bowling.”
Russell’s record of so many years in IPL
Andre Russell has an extraordinary record in the IPL. After making his debut for KKR in 2014, he won the title with them in his very first season. He stayed and played for Kolkata Knight Riders for 12 seasons and appeared in three finals for them.
The first final was in 2014, followed by the second in 2021 and again in 2024. All three finals have been led by three different captains, Gautam Gambhir, Eoin Morgan and Shreyas Iyer respectively, but two West Indies stalwarts, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, have remained constant over the years.
In 140 IPL games, Russell scored 2651 runs at a strike rate of 174.18, which is still a record for players who have played 1000+ balls in the tournament. He also took 123 wickets in the IPL with best figures of 5/15.
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