Andre Russell retired after the last IPL, and has joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – after 11 seasons with the team as a player – as power coach ahead of IPL 2026. On his first day in his new job, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Russell was at work, observing the KKR batters in the nets, demonstrating what he wanted them to do, and chatting with a couple of them.
While with opening batter Tim Seifert, Russell was seen tapping his left shoulder while in the batting stance. Cameron Green then swung hard over the leg side, which Russell seemed to enjoy, before having a word with KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Ramandeep Singh and Manish Pandey also batted in the nets under Russell’s supervision. With Rovman Powell was asked to go back when playing the pull.
“I teach people how to hit sixes,” Russell said at the end of a video posted by KKR on social media in response to the question about what he was doing at the IPL.
On Tuesday, KKR retired the No. 12 jersey to honour Russell’s contribution as a player. He played 133 games for KKR, and was twice part of their title-winning sides – in 2014 and 2024.
“I don’t think it has affected my mindset,” he had said of moving into coaching. “It is more about coming and giving back to all the guys I have played with and against.”
He has, however, continued to play in other T20 leagues, most recently at the ILT20 in the UAE and the SA20 in South Africa.
KKR start their IPL 2026 campaign against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on March 29. They had finished eighth last year, with just five wins in 14 games.