- Franchises reveal retentions and trades, setting the stage for a high-stakes auction
- Teams balancing experience, overseas firepower, and domestic depth
- Key gaps and strategic buys likely to define IPL 2026 success
As the countdown to the IPL 2026 auction begins, all ten franchises have finalised their retention lists and trades, setting the tone for what promises to be one of the most exciting player markets in recent years. With marquee names shifting teams and franchises carefully managing purse limits, the strategic choices made in the next few days could make or break their title aspirations.
Chennai Super Kings, fresh off the trade of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran to Rajasthan Royals, retain MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and newly-acquired Sanju Samson. The franchise enters the auction with INR 43.40 crore in hand, eyeing a premium overseas all-rounder and a seam-bowling backup to reinforce their lineup. Similarly, Delhi Capitals, with only INR 21.80 crore left, will target top-order reinforcements and overseas talent after letting go of Faf du Plessis and Donovan Ferreira.
Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants have been among the most active in the trade market. RR welcomed Jadeja and Curran while letting go of Sanju Samson and Nitish Rana, leaving them with a clear need for spin and pace depth. LSG added Mohammed Shami and Arjun Tendulkar to their ranks but must find replacements for David Miller and Ravi Bishnoi. With a purse of over INR 22 crore, both franchises have the flexibility to pursue high-impact players.
The auction will also test the financial and tactical acumen of franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders, who enter with INR 64.30 crore and 13 slots open, but must solve key gaps in wicketkeeping, opening batting, and all-round options. Mumbai Indians, in contrast, are well-stocked but have only INR 2.75 crore left, suggesting a quiet auction strategy focused on niche reinforcements. Other teams, including Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings, RCB, and Sunrisers Hyderabad, have clearly defined needs-finishers, spinners, all-rounders, and overseas fast bowlers, providing an intricate chessboard for IPL scouts and managers.
As the IPL 2026 auction looms, it is clear that franchises are approaching the market with a careful balance of strategy, purse management, and squad-building vision. With record-breaking talents available and seasoned stars in play, the auction promises fireworks. The decisions made in the coming days will shape not just the starting XI but the destiny of each team in what could be one of the most competitive IPL seasons yet.
Chennai Super Kings
Players released: Ravindra Jadeja (traded to RR), Andre Siddarth, Deepak Hooda, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Matheesha Pathirana, Sam Curran (traded to RR), Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Rahul Tripathi, Shaikh Rasheed, Vansh Bedi, Vijay Shankar
Players retained: MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (traded in from RR), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj
Purse remaining: INR 43.40 crores
Slots remaining: 9 (4 overseas)
Delhi Capitals
Players released: Donovan Ferreira (traded to RR), Darshan Nalkande, Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sediqullah Atal
Players retained: Nitish Rana (traded in from RR), Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam
Purse remaining: INR 21.80 crore
Slots remaining: 8 (5 overseas)
Gujarat Titans
Players released: Sherfane Rutherford (traded to MI), Dasun Shanaka, Gerald Coetzee, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mahipal Lomror
Players retained: Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Gurnoor Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, B Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar
Purse remaining: INR 12.90 crore
Slots remaining: 5 (4 overseas)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Players released: Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Luvnith Sisodia, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Venkatesh Iyer
Players retained: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Purse remaining: INR 64.30 crore
Slots remaining: 13 (6 overseas)
Lucknow Super Giants
Players released: Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Ravi Bishnoi, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shardul Thakur (traded to MI), Akash Deep, Shamar Joseph
Players retained: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar (traded in from MI), Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mayank Yadav, Mohammed Shami (traded in from SRH), Mitchell Marsh, Mohsin Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Prince Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shahbaz Ahmed
Purse remaining: INR 22.95 crore
Slots remaining: 6 (4 overseas)
Mumbai Indians
Players released: Arjun Tendulkar (traded to LSG), Bevon Jacobs, Karn Sharma, Lizaad Williams, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Reece Topley, Krishnan Shrijith, Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur
Players retained: Shardul Thakur (traded in from LSG), Sherfane Rutherford (traded in from GT), Mayank Markande (traded in from KKR), AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Will Jacks
Purse remaining: INR 2.75 crore
Slots remaining: 5 (1 overseas)
Punjab Kings
Players released: Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey
Players retained: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal
Purse remaining: INR 11.50 crore
Slots remaining: 4 (2 overseas)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Players released: Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Bhandage, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee
Players retained: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Bethell, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh
Purse remaining: INR 16.40 crore
Slots remaining: 8 (2 overseas)
Rajasthan Royals
Players released: Sanju Samson (traded to CSK), Nitish Rana (traded to DC), Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Singh Rathore, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga
Players retained: Donovan Ferreira (traded in from DC), Ravindra Jadeja (traded in from CSK), Sam Curran (traded in from CSK), Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Singh
Purse remaining: INR 16.05 crore
Slots remaining: 9 (1 overseas)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Players released: Mohammed Shami (traded to LSG), Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar
Players retained: Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, R Smaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari
Purse remaining: INR 25.50 crore
Slots remaining: 10 (2 overseas)
