Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth weighed in on the notable releases, including the most surprising one of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell, after the IPL 2026 retention deadline. Despite the West Indian's incredible T20 numbers and his more-than-decade-long association with KKR, Srikkanth felt the franchise was right to release him, given his recent form.Russell endured a torrid IPL 2025 season with bat and ball for KKR, averaging under 19 with the willow and picking up only eight wickets at an economy of almost 12 in 13 outings.Talking about KKR releasing the star all-rounder on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said (4:05):"Andre Russell hasn't done anything great the last few years. Releasing him was the right move. Maybe they'll buy him back at a lower price."The former opener also backed KKR's decision to release their ₹23.75 crore buy, Venkatesh Iyer."Venkatesh Iyer's release was expected as he had a poor last IPL season. Even the year before the last, he did well only in the playoffs," he stated.Srikkanth also agreed with the franchises releasing Matheesha Pathirana, Liam Livingstone, and Ravi Bishnoi."Coming to Pathirana, he had a very ordinary last two seasons. He only performed here and there, nothing great about him. Ravi Bishnoi's release was expected only. He is an overrated cricketer. Liam Livingstone was overpriced. But these guys will be bought by some franchises but their prices will be lower," he added.While Pathirana and Bishnoi were priced at ₹13 and ₹11 crore by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Livingstone joined the 2025 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for ₹8.75 crore."It's a good plus for DC" - Kris Srikkanth on the Nitish Rana tradeKris Srikkanth praised the Delhi Capitals (DC) for acquiring Nitish Rana from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) through a trade ahead of the IPL 2026 retention deadline. The left-hander showed some glimpses in IPL 2025 for RR but finished with an underwhelming 217 runs at an average of under 22 in 11 matches."Nitish Rana is a good player. He can be a useful player and on turning wickets, he can bowl also. So it's a good plus for DC. I am not sure why RR let go of Nitish Rana. Probably be didn't perform very well last year. But Nitish Rana kind of player, you need to handle him well. There are some cricketers who need to be handled well," said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).He concluded:"Nitish Rana when he was in KKR was handled well. That's why he did very well for KKR. So how the team management handles certain players is very important and Rana is one such. He can be a match-winner for you."Both DC and RR missed the playoffs in the 2025 season, with the latter finishing second-to-last on the points table.