Andre Russell joins the retirement bandwagon: The blitz trekking all rounder now hangs his boots surprising fans

As IPL lovers are dealing with Faf Du Plessis’ retirement, another surprise springs up. Andre Russell, the dashing all rounder who was instrumental in the success of KKR all these years has called time on his IPL career. 

“I had some amazing times and great memories (in the IPL), hitting sixes, winning games, getting MVPs," Russell was quoted as saying in a release.”

“When I made this decision, I felt like it was the best decision at this point. I don't want to fade out, I want to leave a legacy behind. It's best to retire when fans ask "why? You still have some more in you. You still could go for a bit longer." instead of "yeah, you should have done it years back." He concluded.

140 matches, 2651 runs at a strike rate of 174.18 and 123 wickets at an economy of 9.51 with best bowling figures of 5 for 15 are some of the stats that Russell has had in the IPL.  But more than the stats, it was the impact of Andre Rusell that gave the opposition nightmares. He along with Sunil Narine were the backbone of the Kolkata Knight Riders and the result - 2 IPL titles in 2012 and 2024 respectively. He has been awarded the MVP in 2015 and 2019.

His brutal lower-order hitting made him one of the most feared finishers in IPL history. At the time of his retirement, he has 223 IPL sixes putting him seventh on the all-time list, behind only Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers and David Warner.

“There have been a lot of conversations between me and Mr. Venky Mysore and also Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, about another chapter in my IPL journey. They have shown me love and respect and have appreciated whatever I've been doing on the field. To be in a setup that's familiar, matters to me a lot," he added.

Russell though, intends to continue playing different leagues around the world, but his exploits in the IPL will be forever remembered. With Gayle, Bravo, Pollard and now Andre Russell leaving, truly its the end of the West Indian era in the IPL.