The issues for West Indies cricket are showing no signs of getting better as Andre Russell is set to bid adieu to international cricket next week with the second T20I against Australia at the Sabina Park in Jamaica set to be his final match for the national team of the Caribbean Islands.

Russell was named in the West Indies' squad for the five-match T20I series, which will kickstart on Sunday (July 21), but a report by ESPNcricinfo has revealed that he will only play the first two matches and retire post them, giving him a chance to bid farewell to international cricket at his home ground.

"Thank You, DRE RUSS! For 15 years, you played with heart, passion, and pride for the West Indies. rom being a two-time T20 World Cup Champion to your dazzling power on and off the field, your impact and stellar contributions will be forever etched in our hearts," wrote Cricket West Indies on Instagram.

For those unversed, Jamaica will host the first two matches of the series on July 21 and 23 before action moves to St. Kitts for the final three games of the series, which Russell will not play.

Russell has been among the finest T20 players the world has ever seen andhas been a key part of the West Indies team which dominated the shortest format. The star all-rounder was part of both the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup-winning sides, which became the first team in history to win the marquee tournament twice under Daren Sammy's leadership.

Russell's retirement just seven months before the 2026 T20 World Cup comes as a huge blow to the two-time champions, as star batter Nicholas Pooran also quit international cricket last month. However, Russell's retirement at the age of 37 was a matter of time, while Pooran has decided to bid adieu to the Men in Morron aged just 29.

Russell made his debut for the West Indies in 2010 in a Test match against Sri Lanka, which proved to be his lone outing in red-ball cricket at the international level after making two runs and taking one wicket. His ODI and T20I debut both came in 2011.

So far in his career, the dynamic all-rounder has played 84 T20Is in which he has made 1078 runs at a strike-rate of 163.08. He has also taken 61 wickets.

Meanwhile, he also played 56 ODIs for the Windies, with his last appearance in the 50-over format coming during the 2019 World Cup. He made 1034 runs in ODI cricket while taking 70 wickets.