Various reports regarding retentions and releases by each team have been doing the rounds ahead of the IPL 2025 retention deadline. However, the biggest one came tonight when ESPNcricinfo reported that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will release Andre Russell.

Russell has been one of KKR’s biggest match winners so the report doesn’t seem credible but the source is mostly correct with his reports. If this turns out to be true, the mega auction will be hotter than ever.

Several teams will be chasing him, so KKR may not be able to use Right To Match (RTM) and Russell could end up in a different team for the first time in ten years. We look at three teams that will be out to chase Andre Russell in the IPL 2025 auction.

Bombay Indians

Mumbai Indians (MI) like to have big names in their team, and when the player is as big as Russell, interest is bound to increase. MI will most likely release Tim David and Romario Shepherd before the auction and will need a solid lower-middle-order batsman, and if he can bowl, that’s a plus.

Russell’s recent rise as a bowler, combined with his batting prowess, make him an ideal option in MI’s set-up, who should go after him. Russell will enjoy playing at Wankhede, where the ball comes to the bat and players get extra bounce off the pad, which suits his natural length.

Also Read: Three IPL teams that will want Shreyas Iyer as captain for IPL 2025

Kings of Punjab

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will need to fill several gaps and one of them is the pace bowling all-rounder. They will release Sam Curran and Chris Woakes and will need a player of a similar type, and Russell is better than any other foreign player in this category.

He will be a ball defender and a perfect player to bat in the middle order with Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma. He can also act as their captain, given his extensive experience playing in different T20 leagues over the years.

Rajasthan Royals

Despite having a quality team, one area where Rajasthan Royals (RR) were weak is having a quality all-rounder who can bat at number 6 and also contribute with the ball. They tried Jason Holder and also played Rovman Powell as a batsman but did not get much success.

Russell is someone who has done it time and time again and can do the same with HR. In fact, he is the best man to do it and provide much-needed balance to the team.

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