Former India player Anil Kumble has said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should have retained Andre Russell ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. He also stated that the three-time IPL champions would have gone into the auction with the maximum remaining purse as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Kumble said, “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.”

“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 further added.

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Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim added that the Kolkata Knight Riders might buy back Andre Russell at the IPL 2026 auction as well.

“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.

“The rest he wants to buy in the auction. He will make his combination according to that. I have always seen Abhishek Nayar work in this kind of manner. The KKR management feels at this stage that maybe Russell has exhausted his utility, the kind of value KKR have put on Russell for a number of years,” he concluded.