IPL 2026 Auction: 3 teams that could start a bidding war for Andre Russell

2. Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR have been a franchise which has always valued loyalty. They have often brought back their former players during the auction. Andre Russell is undoubtedly one of their finest servants, and KKR could look to re-hire him come the mini-auction next month.

The Knights have a massive purse of INR 64.3 crore. If they want to re-sign Russell, they can do so fairly easily. But yes, they might have to dish out a sum of more than INR 12 crore. However, there is a possibility of the franchise targeting Cameron Green at the auction. With Rovman Powell already being retained, the Australian all-rounder does sign for KKR, it is highly unlikely that they would go for Russell.