IPL 2017 | Kolkata Knight Riders : Andre Russell’s ban an administrative error

KKR could have released Russell and gone into the auction with an increased purse but the two-time champions decided to retain the West Indies star, who has been a consistent performer with the bat, the ball, and on the field since joining them in 2014.

"It's unfortunate that Russell has received a sanction for what I would call an administrative error. There has been a slip-up somewhere and I know it's not his fault. He can't play this year, but we haven't released him. Next year, depending on retention rules, we'll try and keep him with us," Venky Mysore, the CEO of Knight Riders, told Cricbuzz.

Getting Chris Woakes was a big thing. Looking at his stats, he is superb.

Venky Mysore

Despite the lack of clarity regarding retention of players in the next auction where most of the players are set to go under the hammer once again, Kolkata have kept their faith in Russell. However, they have bought good replacements for him with the likes of Chris Woakes, Trent Boult, and Nathan Coulter-Nile signing for them in the auction.

"Obviously it's not easy to replace someone like Andre Russell. He had given us great balance. but that said we were able to do well today. Getting Chris Woakes was a big thing. Looking at his stats, he is superb. He can bowl up front and bowl at the death. Trevor Bayliss told me that he was very closer to becoming a world class allrounder so we're happy to have him.

"We also have got Rovman Powell. He's an emerging star and people in Jamaica call him Junior Russell. Look out for him. We have seen him in the CPL and he can do a lot with both bat and ball. Ishank Jaggi and Sanjay Yadav are also good buys. Coulter-Nile is another tremendous allrounder. He's very quick and can bowl both on top and at the death. All of this gives us a really good balance. We really do have a solid core,"Venky Mysore added.