Russell is considered as one of the greatest cricketers in the T20 format, notable for his powerful hitting, and capability to bowl at speeds consistently above 140 km/h.

[3] A fast bowling all-rounder, Russell made his Test cricket debut against Sri Lanka in November 2010.

He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in the 2011 Cricket World Cup match against Ireland at Mohali.

[11] However, on 24 June 2019, Russell was ruled out of the rest of the tournament, due to a knee injury, and was replaced by Sunil Ambris.

[13][14][15] In September 2021, Russell was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

[20] Ahead of the 2014 season he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders and has been seen as a key batsman for the team in the later overs of matches.

[29][30] In September 2018, he was named as the Icon Player for Nangarhar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.

[37] Russell was picked by Southern Brave for the 2021 edition of The Hundred before he withdrew due to international commitments.

He garnered a strike rate of 167.05 and contributed 11 wickets over 9 appearances to the Knight Riders making it to the finals.

[40] On February 3, 2025, in the 11th edition of the BPL, Andre Russell joined Rangpur to play a playoff match.

[43] In 2014, Russell began a second career as a recording artist under the name 'Dre Russ', with two singles released in November, one a collaboration with Beenie Man.