Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir believes if the franchise had bought West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell earlier, it would've won more than two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Russell, after infrequently turning up for Delhi Daredevils (now, Delhi Capitals), was soon picked by KKR in the 2014 auction and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Read Also: VVS Laxman says IPL 13 should be held just before T20 World Cup

Since that vote of confidence, Russell from just another cricketer has developed into a T20 brand, which all teams in the world remain keen to invest in. For KKR, especially, the big Jamaican has been absolutely outstanding as an end-overs power-hitter and fifth bowling option. 

"Imagine Russell going for Rs 50 lakhs to KKR and Pawan Negi for Rs 8 crores to (Delhi) Daredevils. I probably wished that he (Russell) would have been there for seven years when I was playing, we would have certainly won one or two more (titles)," Gambhir told Star Sports.

Russell's breakthrough IPL season came in 2015 when he was terrific with both bat and ball, scoring 326 runs at an astonishing strike-rate of 192 and picking up 14 wickets. 

Last year again, Russell was at his best. He scored over 500 runs and took 11 wickets. But despite that KKR failed to qualify for the tournament play-offs. 

In 64 IPL matches so far, the 31-year-old has scored 1,400 runs at a strike-rate of 186.42 and scalped 55 wickets at an economy rate of 8.88.

(Inputs from IANS)