IPL 2026 Retentions Highlights: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 retention phase marks a crucial period for teams as they shape their squads for the upcoming season.
Retention, a process where franchises decide which players to keep from their existing rosters before the auction, is more flexible this year than in previous mega-auction cycles.

That's it from us for the IPL 2026 retentions. The teams now have another Trade window to rope in released players, before the auction in December. Take Care, See you Soon!!
Chennai Super Kings
Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathirana
Delhi Capitals
Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sediqullah Atal, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande
Kolkata Knight Riders
Venkatesh Iyer, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson, Moeen Ali, Rahmanulllah Gurbaz, Andre Russell, Luvnith Sisodia, Chetan Sakariya
Mumbai Indians
Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur
Rajasthan Royals
Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahessh Theekshana, Kunal Singh Rathore, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya
Lucknow Super Giants
Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shamar Joseph
Gujarat Titans
Gerald Coetzee, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Kulwant Khejroliya, Dasun Shanaka
Punjab Kings
Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Sen
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chhikara, Tim Seifert, Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mohit Rathee, Manoj Bhandage
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhinav Manohar, Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa

Here are the most expensive released players ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction.
CSK confirm that Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain them in the IPL 2026 season.
LEAD THE WAY, CAPTAIN RUTURAJ GAIKWAD!💪🦁#WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/EawvX5k2yI
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 15, 2025
IPL 2026 auction is around a month away. But make no mistake, the auction purse at the end of the Retention announcement may not be the same when these teams head into the auction. The 10 teams can trade in the released players from now on till the start of the IPL 2026 mini auction. Hence the likes of KKR, CSK can rope in players from now till the auction.
Check Out the Purse and Slots for all Ten Teams
"At 9 crores, what we got from him was not enough, so we decided to let him go," Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani says on Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana
Here are the retained players for the Kolkata Knight Riders, but don't be surprised if they add a few from their released ones in the auction.
From Eden to the world: Your 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 Knights for 2026 😍💜 pic.twitter.com/xL4ClNltUF
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) November 15, 2025
Mumbai Indians have Rs 2.75 crore remaining to use in the IPL 2026 auction and they have to sign a maximum of 5 players.
RR have retained players for IPL 2026, keeping a strong Indian core of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande.
RR have also retained overseas players Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka and Nandre Burger, and strengthened the squad through key trades by bringing in Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran and Donovan Ferreira.
The Royals have Rs 16.05 crore in the auction and have 9 slots remaining at the moment.
Have a look at the Released Players of all the Teams.
Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Quintin de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Chetan Sakariya, Venkatesh Iyer
KKR have released 6 overseas players - Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Quintin de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Spencer Johnson.
Kolkata Knight Riders are set to appear in the IPL 2026 mini auction with the biggest purse, which is a mammoth Rs 64.3 crore.
LSG have Rs 22.95 crore purse in the mini auction and have 6 slots remaining to fill.
Released Players:Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shamar Joseph
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be heading into the IPL 2026 mini auction with a purse of Rs 16.4 crore.
Gerald Coetzee, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Kulwant Khejroliya, Dasun Shanaka - five players released by the Gujarat Titans.
Released Players - Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sediqullah Atal, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande
Released players are - Abhinav Manohar, Atharva taide, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa
Mohammed Shami has been traded to Lucknow Super Giants.
The released players are - Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mohit Rathee
Released: Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Sen
MI have a purse of just Rs 2.75 crore in the IPL 2026 auction. CSK head into the auction with a mammoth Rs 43.4 crore purse
RR have released Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana.
Released:Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur
Released: Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddarth, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathirana
Retained:Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleed Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary
Sanju Samson may end up captaining Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2026 season, says former India player Abhinav Mukund. Ravindra Jadeja can also lead the Rajasthan Royals.
We are moments away from the IPL 2026 Retentions. Brace Yourselves Folks!!
A Massive, Massive News coming in!! Andre Russell is reportedly released by the Kolkata Knight Riders. The West Indies all-rounder has been poised with a move away for some time now, and even in the IPL 2025 mega auction, he was a last-minute inclusion to the Retention List. But Dre-Russ may have run his race with KKR!!
Unlike the IPL 2025 mega auction, the IPL 2026 edition features a mini-auction scheduled for December 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, where released players and new entrants will compete for contracts. Notably, the Right-to-Match (RTM) card is not available this season, meaning all players who enter the auction pool will face open bidding without guaranteed buy-back options for franchises.
This year's retention dynamics have prompted significant trade discussions and player movements ahead of the deadline. High-profile talks have centered around Rajasthan Royals' captain Sanju Samson potentially moving to Chennai Super Kings, possibly in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Other notable trade and retention stories include Venkatesh Iyer's uncertain position at Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohammed Shami's status with Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mumbai Indians' acquisition of Shardul Thakur from Lucknow Super Giants.
The retention decisions directly impact each team's auction purse, as the salary value of released players is added back to the budget available for the mini-auction. For example, teams like Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which have released several high-value players, will enter the auction with considerable spending power, allowing them to be aggressive in building their squads.
Number of Retentions: There is no cap on the number of players a franchise can retain, unlike in mega-auction years.
Squad Size: Each team must maintain a squad of up to 25 players, including a mix of Indian and overseas talent.
Auction Purse: Every franchise starts with a purse of ₹120 crore for the mini-auction to bid on released players or new talent.
Trade Window: Open before the retention deadline, allowing player swaps or all-cash deals to optimize squads.
Broadcast and Announcement: Retention lists will be revealed starting at 5 PM IST on November 15, with live coverage on Star Sports channels and streaming on JioHotstar.