Chennai : Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders released the largest number of players on the retention deadline day on Saturday, 15 November. The former champions parted ways with several big names and are heading into the mini-auction with a sizeable purse. All 10 teams announced their lists of released and retained players, bringing an end to weeks of speculation.
After the Indian Premier League confirmed eight trades, the official broadcaster revealed the full retention lists. Kolkata Knight Riders raised eyebrows by releasing Andre Russell, one of their most influential match-winners. KKR retained Ajinkya Rahane, who is likely to continue leading the side should they fail to secure a marquee player at the mini-auction.
Chennai Super Kings, meanwhile, released Matheesha Pathirana, their match-winning fast bowler who had earned the trust of MS Dhoni.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, five-time champions Mumbai Indians and last year’s finalists Punjab Kings did not release many players, signalling their confidence in the strength of their core squads.
In what is arguably a first for the franchise, Punjab Kings opted against a major reshuffle and instead prioritised continuity and stability. Captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting will be keen to build on the momentum generated in the previous season.
Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, showed faith in their domestic talent, releasing the likes of Faf du Plessis, Harry Brook and Jake Fraser-McGurk. They retained T Natarajan and Mukesh Kumar despite having invested heavily in them at last year’s auction.
Lucknow Super Giants, on the other hand, released David Miller, one of the most feared finishers in the format, while retaining faith in the injury-prone fast bowler Mayank Yadav.
FULL LIST OF RETAINED AND RELEASED PLAYERS IN IPL 2026
Kolkata Knight RIders
Retained Players: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Released Players: Andre Russel (Rs 12 Crore), Venkatesh Iyer (23.75 crore), Quinton de Kock (Rs 3.6 Crore), Moeen Ali (Rs 2 Crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs 6.5 crore)
- Available Slots: 13 (including 6 Overseas slots)
- Available Purse: Rs 64.3 crore.
Chennai Super Kings
Retained Players: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Sanju Samson (Traded in), Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Nathan Ellis, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Noor Ahmed, Shreyas Gopal.
Released Players: Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 18.00 Crore), Matheesha Pathirana (Rs 13.00 Crore), Devon Conway (Rs 6.25 Crore), Rachin Ravindra (Rs 4.00 Crore), Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.40 Crore), Sam Curran (Rs 2.40 Crore), Deepak Hooda (Rs 1.70 Crore), Vijay Shankar (Rs 1.20 Crore), Vansh Bedi (Rs 55 Lakh), Andre Siddharth (Rs 30 Lakh), Shaikh Rasheed (Rs 30 Lakh), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Rs 30 Lakh).
- Available slots: 9
- Available Purse: Rs 43.4 crore.
Gujarat Titans
Retained Players: Shubman Gill (captain), Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Jos Buttler, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Nishant Sindhu, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Glenn Phillips.
Released players: Karim Janat (Rs 75 Lakh), Kulwant Khejroliya (Rs 30 Lakh), Gerald Coetzee (Rs 2.40 Crore), Dasun Shanaka (Rs 75 Lakh), Mahipal Lomror (Rs 1.70 Crore).
- Available slots: 5
- Available Purse: Rs 12.9 crore.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Retained Players: Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Abhinandan Singh, Rasikh Dar.
Released Players: Swastik Chikara (Rs 30 Lakh), Mayank Agarwal (replacement), Tim Seifert (Rs 30 Lakh), Liam Livingstone (Rs 8.75 Crore), Manoj Bhandage (Rs 30 Lakh), Lungi Ngidi (Rs 1.00 Crore), Blessing Muzarabani (Rs 75 Lakh), Mohit Rathee (Rs 30 Lakh).
- Available slots: 8
- Available Purse: 16.4 crore.
Delhi Capitals
Retained Players: 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 (traded in).
Released Players: Mohit Sharma (Rs 2.20 Crore), Faf du Plessis (Rs 2.00 Crore), Sediqullah Atal (Unsold), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Rs 2.00 Crore), Manvanth Kumar (Rs 30 Lakh), Darshan Nalkande (Rs 30 Lakh), Donovan Ferreira (Rs 75 Lakh).
- Available Slots: 8
- Available Purse: Rs 21.8 crore
PURSE AND SLOTS REMAINING FOR TEAMS
- KKR- 64.3 cr (13)
- CSK- 43.4 cr (9)
- SRH- 25.5 cr (10)
- LSG- 22.95 cr (6)
- DC- 21.8 cr (8)
- RCB- 16.4 cr (8)
- RR- 16.05 cr (9)
- GT- 12.9 cr (5)
- PBKS- 11.5 cr (4)
- MI- 2.75 cr (5)
