New Delhi: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday retired Andre Russell’s no.12 jersey in honour of the superstar all-rounder. Russell announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year after getting released by the three-time champions ahead of the mini auction.

Russell was expected to head into the auction after being let go by KKR, however, the former West Indies all-rounder chose loyalty over a new team as he drew curtains on his IPL career, stating that he couldn’t have imagined playing for any other franchise. KKR reciprocated the gesture by retiring Russell’s no.12 jersey.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore made the announcement during Knights Unplugged, a pre-season event that took place in Kolkata on Tuesday. Russell was seen getting emotional as Mysore announced on the stage that KKR have officially retired his no.12 jersey.

“In your honour, we would like to retire this number for KKR,” Mysore announced at the event amid loud cheers from the crowd. The decision means no KKR player will wear the no.12 from the 2026 season onwards, cementing his legacy with the franchise.

ICYMI: Jersey no. 12 forever belongs to DRE RUSS 💜 pic.twitter.com/D1cFfhuYvI

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders)

Russell seemed visibly moved while watching a video of his decade-long journey with the franchise. The West Indies T20 great joined KKR in 2014 and went on to enjoy a stellar career with the franchise, helping them win two titles. Russell established himself as one of the most fierce power hitters in the shortest format and also contributed consistently with the ball for KKR.

He scored 2658 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 175.09 and picked 124 wickets in 139 matches for KKR across all competitions. He finished as KKR’s second-highest run-getter of all time across all competitions and also their second-highest wicket-taker of all time, behind only Sunil Narine, who continues to be a vital cog in the franchise’s bowling line-up.