Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have retired jersey No. 12 as a tribute to their former player Andre Russell, who represented the franchise in the IPL for 12 years from 2014 to 2025.
The three-time champions made the announcement at their pre-season event, Knights
Unplugged 3.0, on Tuesday evening. The star allrounder has returned to the KKR setup as a ‘power coach’ ahead of IPL 2026.
With his big-hitting ability and a skilled bowler in the death overs, Russell was one of the key players for KKR over the years and helped the franchise win IPL trophies in 2014 and 2024.
Russell has been one of KKR’s most impactful players over the years, featuring in 140 IPL matches. He has scored 2,651 runs at an impressive strike rate of 174.17 and also taken 123 wickets, making him one of the finest allrounders in the league. In fact, he is only the second player in IPL history to achieve the rare double of 2000-plus runs and 100-plus wickets. His standout season came in 2019, when his explosive batting saw him score 510 runs at an incredible strike rate of over 200, earning him the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
A two-time ICC Men’s T20 World Cup winner with West Indies, Russell has also delivered memorable performances with the ball. His best figures for KKR came in 2021, when he picked up 5 for 15 against Mumbai Indians. Overall, his 122 wickets for the franchise place him among their top bowlers, second only to Sunil Narine, who leads the chart.
Speaking on the occasion, Venky Mysore, CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders, said: “We’ve had a long association with Andre Russell, not just with KKR but also on a personal level. On the field, he has given us so many reasons to celebrate his performances over the years. He always wore the number 12 proudly, and the number is so unique to Dre Russ that we wanted to share a fitting tribute. So, in the Knight Riders tradition of starting a new legacy, we’d like to retire this number for KKR in his honour.”
“It has been over a decade of amazing achievements with this franchise, and I got a bit emotional watching the video. To be a part of two championship-winning teams with KKR, and to see what it means to everyone, that’s an amazing feeling. When you win a World Cup, that feels special, but when you win the IPL, it’s something different. I just want to say thanks to this franchise for making this journey so special for me,” an emotional Russell shared his thoughts.
