Three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a major announcement on Tuesday ahead of the new season. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side announced that they will retire the No.12 jersey.
This won’t be the first time an IPL franchise has retired a jersey. In 2023, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had retired the jersey numbers 17 and 333, in honour of South African legend AB de Villiers and West Indian big-hitter Chris Gayle, respectively.
Why KKR have retired No.12 jersey
Kolkata Knight Riders have retired the No.12 jersey as a tribute to former West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell. Russell has worn the number 12 on the back of jersey since the time he joined KKR in 2014 till the time he retired from the IPL in 2025.
Russell played for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2012 and 2013, before joining Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.
However, it was during his stint at KKR that Russell transformed himself into an aggressive all-rounder and helped his team win two IPL titles in 2014 and 2024. KKR made the announcement during their pre-season event of Knights Unplugged in Kolkata on Tuesday. This was the third edition of Knights Unplugged.
“It has been over a decade of amazing achievements with this franchise, and I got a bit emotional watching the video. To be a part of two championship-winning teams with KKR, and to see what it means to everyone, that’s an amazing feeling,” Andre Russell, who has been appointed KKR’s ‘Power Coach’, said on Tuesday.
Russell played 133 matches for KKR between 2014 and 2025, scoring 2539 runs and taking 122 wickets. His best season with the bat was in 2019, when he slammed 510 runs from 14 matches, whereas his best season with the ball came in 2022 when he took 17 wickets.
“We’ve had a long association with Andre Russell, not just with KKR but also on a personal level. On the field, he has given us so many reasons to celebrate his performances over the years. He always wore the number 12 proudly, and the number is so unique to Dre Russ that we wanted to share a fitting tribute.
“So, in the Knight Riders tradition of starting a new legacy, we’d like to retire this number for KKR in his honour,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore said.
Kolkata Knighyt Riders will miss Harshit Rana and Akash Deep due to injuries, whereas Matheesha Pathirana will only be available from the middle of April. Despite facing a few pre-season hurdles, Kolkata Knight Riders will begin IPL 2026 as strong favourites.
They will get their IPL 2026 campaign underway with a game against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on 29 March.
