West Indies powerhouse Andre Russell’s release from the Kolkata Knight Riders on the IPL 2026 retention deadline day grabbed eyeballs, with several pundits and fans expressing surprise over the decision from the three-time champions. Russell, 37, retired from international T20Is earlier this year and has served the Knights for over 11 years, scoring 2600 runs while also picking 122 wickets for the franchise. Russell’s devastating impact was vital to the KKR set-up, however, former India batter Mohammed Kaif feels things may have changed with the appointment of Abhishek Nayar as head coach. Kaif added that Nayar is the direct reason behind the relase of Russell, insisting that the former India assistant coach wants to mould his own side. ‘You had him at Rs 12 crore… “Russell’s release is not right. You had him at 12 crore and that is not a big amount really for a player like him. He is once in a generation player. Yes he was out of form but later on he scored runs too. But as coaches change, they bring …