Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has added that the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) releases before the IPL 2026 auction show that loyalty is no longer given importance in the Indian Premier League as well. He added that the three-time champions have released a lot of players, including the immensely trusted Andre Russell as well. However, KKR released nine players apart from trading Mayank Markande to the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. They have a huge purse of ₹64.30 crore heading into the mini-auction as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Kolkata have said they would change everything. They have released six overseas players. Loyalty used to be royalty earlier. Now loyalty is nothing. Now unemotional trades are the new thing. There was an era when Andre Russell had tweeted that he would always be a knight till he plays the IPL. Then Venky Mysore said he would always be a knight, but he is no longer a knight. Is he done yet completely? No, you didn’t get him to bat much last time. He scored 167 runs in 110-odd balls. He scored runs the year before that as well. He didn’t get to play too many balls and didn’t get to bowl much. He had a limited role.”
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However, Aakash Chopra also shared that KKR might have decided to target Cameron Green at the auction, saying that they can spend a huge amount to acquire the Australian all-rounder.
“Maybe they have made up their mind that they need Cameron Green. You can spend ₹25 crore because ₹40 crore will still be left even after spending ₹25 crore. So you don’t have any concern till ₹25 crore. At least one player they put their finger on will be theirs, and it’s possible that two players they put their finger on could be theirs. Who can be the second? I am thinking about Cameron Green as one because an all-rounder is required. Second, I think they need a wicketkeeper opening batter because they don’t have a wicketkeeper at all. It could be Tim Seifert, Jonny Bairstow or Jamie Smith, or anyone else they might have thought about. They can get whoever they want,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
