Mohammad Kaif says Andre Russell’s IPL retirement would have left CSK upset ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons Andre Russell’s IPL retirement would have spoiled Chennai Super Kings’ auction plans. Kaif said the five-time champions would have looked to rope in the West Indies all-rounder after he was released by KKR.

Meanwhile, Andre Russell scored 167 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 163.72, including a 50 in IPL 2025. Furthermore, Dre Russ scalped eight wickets in nine innings at an average of 27.12 and an economy of 11.94.

“We are talking a lot about Green that teams will target him. If teams have just a few slots to fill and go all-out for a player, they might get a lot more than their worth. The franchises are not looking at money in such a scenario. He can go close to 25 crores as well. I think Dhoni would have been the most upset now with Russell’s retirement. He and CSK. They had him in their plans. They were front-runners if KKR did not buy Russell back. I think he would have gone 99% to CSK,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

On the other hand, Kaif also reacted to Glenn Maxwell’s decision to opt out of IPL 2026. Maxwell had failed to deliver the goods in the previous season of the tournament, managing only 48 runs in six innings at an average of eight and a strike rate of 97.95. Thus, he was not retained by the Punjab Kings ahead of the auction.

The all-rounder was bought for INR 4.20 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Maxwell has scored 2,819 runs at a strike rate of 155.15 in his IPL career.

“I think Maxwell had doubts about himself. Don’t keep Russell in the same category. Maxwell would not go unsold for sure. Maybe he thought he would keep going from one franchise to another and could not take that disrespect. Maxwell had more downs than ups in the IPL. I think he himself had less belief. But he would definitely get a buyer,” Mohammad Kaif added.

The former UP batter reckons KKR got scared after releasing Andre Russell, assuming the star all-rounder would go on to deliver for CSK.

“I think this decision was not made by Russell. They did not plan long-term. They released him and thought of getting money and dominating the auction. But now, after many questions, maybe they got scared that if Russell goes to CSK, for example, and he can be a match-winner and come back anytime, people will talk that they left him before. So they got scared. Now they thought he is their brand, so why give the advantage to someone else? So they planned to get him on the staff and correct their mistake. Maybe he also wanted to be with them till the end and so wanted to continue with them,” he said.

The IPL 2026 auction is all set to take center stage on December 16, 2025, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.