Former India captain Anil Kumble believes the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should have held on to Andre Russell before the IPL 2026 auction. He pointed out that even with Russell retained, the three-time champions would still have entered the auction with the highest purse among all teams.
Russell was one of nine players released by KKR ahead of the auction, and the franchise also traded Mayank Markande to the Mumbai Indians (MI) for his base price of ₹30 lakh. Speaking on Star Sports, Kumble shared his views on KKR’s decision to let Russell go before the IPL 2026 auction.
“I think a good and a bad call. Andre Russell wasn’t the same over the last couple of seasons for KKR, the way he started off, but at the same time, if you look back at all the releases that they have made and the kind of money that they are going to go with into the auction, I don’t think it’s a good call in that sense,” the former India spinner responded.
“Andre Russell at ₹12 crore, they could have still held on, because he is someone who can certainly win you matches on his day, even now. You could have backed him up with somebody from the auction, now that there are a few releases in Glenn Maxwell and Liam Livingstone. You could have retained Russell and still gone into the auction with the maximum purse,” he added.
“KKR Likely To Buy back Andre Russell”- Saba Karim
In the same conversation, former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim suggested that Kolkata Knight Riders could look to bring Andre Russell back at the IPL 2026 auction.
“There is a strong possibility that KKR may buy him back. There is a strong possibility that he may not go for that much money. This is a trademark Abhishek Nayar move. He always wants to start on a fresh note. He has retained only such players who he feels can be part of the winning combination, who can be regular in their XI,” he said.
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