With 2026 IPL mini-auction approaching, franchises have announced their retention lists, with Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings entering the auction on December 16 with the biggest budgets.

KKR holds the highest remaining purse at ₹63.4 crore. In a surprising move, the franchise decided to release star all-rounder Andre Russell, who had been retained for ₹12 crore the previous season.

This decision suggests that KKR may target Australia’s Cameron Green as their next marquee all-rounder in the auction. However, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif disagreed strongly with the choice.

Kaif argued that letting go of Russell - a two-time IPL MVP in 2015 and 2019 and a key part of KKR since 2014 - was a misstep. He also pointed out that Cameron Green is expected to attract one of the highest bids in the 2026 auction.

Russell's release is not right, says Kaif 

"Russell's release is not right," Kaif said on his YouTube channel. "You had him at Rs 12 crore and that is not a big amount really for a player like him. He is a once-in-a-generation player. Yes, he was out of form, but later on he scored runs too. But as coaches change, they bring some changes. I think this was a big call. You can say he was not at his peak, but I feel this is such a format, especially in the IPL, where experienced players do well and there are many examples. I feel the straight answer to his release is Abhishek Nayar. He wants to make his own team now. But this was an astonishing call."

"The quality and power that Russell has, even four players like Cameron Green cannot cover that. The way he plays, he can hit 100m sixes at will and he has won them so many games from situations where the game seemed lost. He got that respect because of this ability. There are very few players like him at number seven. If you play Green at seven, he cannot score even half the runs of Russell - he bats up the order. I feel they should buy Russell back," added Kaif.