IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders Likely To Release Andre Russell, Check KKR’s Probable Retention And Release List
New Delhi: Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are likely to release West Indian Andre Russell ahead of the upcoming IPL 2024 player’s auction that is set to take place on December 19 in Dubai. KKR have already made a big move on Wednesday by roping in former captain Gautam Gambhir as a mentor. The player retention deadline is November 26 and the former Purple and Gold Brigade have surely some work to do.
One of the most-feared all-rounders in franchise cricket, Russell’s performances haven’t been noteworthy in the last few years. In the last season, the Jamaican beast could muster only 227 runs from 14 games and took just seven wickets.
To add more to that, Russell last played in the Caribbean Premier League in September. Since then, the right-hander hasn’t played any competitive games. With Gambhir in the mix, the KKR management would definitely like to have look beyond Russell. Meanwhile, Narine, who has devoted all his life to KKR, retired from international cricket earlier in November.
Unlike Russell, Narine has been playing competitive games and finished top wicket-taker with 20 scalps in eight matches in the recently-concluded Super50 Cup. Several reports also claim that KKR are also likely to release the likes of Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee. The Bangladesh duo of Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan are also likely to get the axe.
The good news for KKR will be the return of captain Shreyas Iyer, who missed out last season due to injury. Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Chakravarthy will once again form the core of the team. Wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was in brilliant form in ODI World Cup 2023, is likely to be retained.
Azmatullah Omarzai, who was a pillar for Afghanistan in ODI World Cup 2023, can be a good option to replace Russell in KKR middle-order. He has all the ability to hit big and rotate the strike when needed. For the record, KKR finished seventh on points table in IPL 2023 with six wins from 14 games.
Players KKR Likely to Release Before IPL 2024
Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Aarya Desai
Players KKR Likely to Retain For IPL 2024
Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, N. Jagadeesan, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora