KKR CEO reveals Shah Rukh Khan’s role in Andre Russell’s IPL retirement

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has disclosed that the franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan played an important role in the veteran all-rounder Andre Russell’s retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Speaking exclusively to ESPNCricinfo, Mysore has revealed that SRK played a decisive role in appointing Russell as the power coach of the franchise for the forthcoming IPL 2026 season, which is scheduled to be played next year. 

“I could see he was agonising over it, and when I shared this with SRK (Shah Rukh Khan), it was actually his suggestion. Players think about what happens after hanging up their boots, but they also don’t want to think about it because they believe they are still good, and Dre still is,” Venky Mysore told ESPNCricinfo.

“He smashed a trademark six, took catches, dived around. I even messaged him, jokingly calling him ‘power coach,’ and he loved it. He has fully accepted it,” he added.

It’s worth noting that KKR now has former players in their support staff set-up. Shane Watson as batting coach, Tim Southee as bowling coach, Dwayne Bravo as mentor and Abhishek Nayar as the newly appointed head coach. On the other hand, Mysore has also revealed that Russell had sleepless nights after being released by the franchise ahead of the mini-auction.

“He said, ‘Wow, never been in an auction since 2014.’ It hit him after a couple of days. He told me he had sleepless nights, wondering what would happen. He said he was so used to the purple and gold and the relationships here,” Mysore noted.

In 140 IPL games, Russell accumulated 2,651 runs at a strike rate of 174.18 and scalped 123 wickets, winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in 2015 and 2019 and lifting the IPL trophy in 2014 and 2024.

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