India, Dec. 5 -- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore has opened up about the franchise's decision to release Andre Russell, one of their biggest superstars, ahead of the upcoming IPL mini-auction later this month. In a detailed conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Mysore explained that the move was driven primarily by the financial structure of the retention slabs and the significant impact Russell's retention would have had on the team's auction purse.

Mysore said that while Russell's contract value stood at Rs.12 crore, retaining him for the 2025 season would have resulted in an Rs.18 crore deduction from KKR's auction purse. "Some people missed the fundamental point, which is the [purse] deduction for us was 18 crore, not 12 crore...