All 10 teams will soon name their IPL 2026 retention list with the deadline for the same approaching closer on November 15. With the IPL 2026 auction slated to be held in December, the IPL retention 2026 and IPL 2026 released players list give an idea of how each franchise will go about in the auction.
The upcoming mini-auction will give the teams a chance to revamp and bolster their respective squads in a bid to comeback stronger next season.
The Right to Match (RTM) card made a return during the previous mega-auction after initially being phased out from the 2022 season. The new RTM rule included retention flexibility (meaning number of RTMs will depend on the number of retentions) and also allowed the new bidder to increase the price after the RTM has been exercised, to make the process slightly fair.
However, since the IPL 2026 auction will be a mini-auction, RTM is unlikely to be there, since the number of players up for grabs will be less than that of a mega auction. Thus, it would become unfair for the player or for teams trying to acquire him. By using the RTM card, franchises can retain their big players while curbing the price, compromising the player of his fair value.
The purse of each team will be calculated according to the players released by them, which will simultaneously free up that amount from the budget. Freeing up the purse for a mini auction is a tricky task, as some teams may have to let go of a key player.
For example, with the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin, CSK have already freed up INR 9.75 crores in their budget. Teams can also add to their purse by trading players with other teams for an all-cash deal or a player plus money agreement.
MI Auction Strategy Explained – The ideal strategy would be to release a few big-money signings like Deepak Chahar (INR 9.25 cr), Will Jacks (INR 5.25 cr) and few others and go into the IPL 2026 auction with a decent amount to make strategic additions.
Category: Retained
Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Ryan Rickelton, Trent Boult, Mitch Santner, Bevon Jacobs, Corbin Bosch, Vignesh Puthur, Karn Sharma, KL Srijith, Raj Bawa, Arjun Tendulkar, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar.
Category: Released
Deepak Chahar, Reece Topley, Will Jacks, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, Satyanarayana Raju, Robin Minz.
KKR Auction Strategy Explained – KKR are expected to keep emotions aside and part ways with some of their most loyal players like Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer. Their major goal going into the auction would be to find a wicketkeeper-batter who can also lead the side along with an all-rounder for the longer future.
Category: Retained
Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Luvnith Sisodia, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Umran Malik, Mayank Markande.
Category: Released
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Shivam Shukla, Chetan Sakariya.
SRH Auction Strategy Explained – SRH will be on the lookout for an overseas middle-order power-hitter, especially if they release Heinrich Klaasen. An experienced pacer, an Indian lower middle order batter, and an utility all-rounder are expected to be the primary goals for SRH in the IPL 2026 auction.
Category: Retained
Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Ishan Kishan, Aniket Verma, Jaydev Unadkat, Simarjeet Singh, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey.
Category: Released
Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa, Brydon Carse, Wiaan Mulder, Sachin Baby, Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Chahar.
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RR Auction Strategy explained – RR’s entire strategy will revolve around the fact if Sanju Samson remains with the side or not. Given current scenario, it seems likely Samson will exit either by trade or by entering the auction, which will create a big void in the RR lineup. While they have Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the side to replace him at the top, RR will need to acquire an experienced wicketkeeper and at the same time a leadership figure.
Category: Retained
Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Jofra Archer.
Category: Released
Wanindu Hasaranga, Kunal Singh Rathore, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nandre Burger.
CSK Auction Strategy Explained – After finishing last in IPL 2025, CSK IPL 2026 auction strategy revolves around three things — releasing expensive non-performers, retaining the domestic backbone, and executing smart trades. As part of this plan, the CSK released players 2026 list will feature some big names who failed to make an impact, while the CSK retained players 2026 group will form the foundation for the next three years.
Category: Retained
Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Matheesha Pathirana, Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, Shivam Dube, Noor Ahmad, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis, Vansh Bedi, Vijay Shankar, Ramakrishna Ghosh.
Category: Released
Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Gurjapneet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Shreyas Gopal, Shaik Rasheed, C Andre Siddarth, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
PBKS Auction Strategy Explained – PBKS is one team who will be one of the most sorted sides coming into the auction, with only a few changes to make. They have a strong India core and good mix of overseas players, which reflected in the runners up finish last season. PBKS will want a good spinning all-rounder, after Glenn Maxwell’s subpar show last season and a middle over enforcer.
Category: Retained
Shreyas Iyer, Priyash Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyashak, Yash Thakur, Musheer Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Suryansh Shedge, and Mitch Owen.
Category: Released
Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, and Harnoor Pannu.
RCB Auction Strategy Explained– Despite RCB lifting the IPL 2025 trophy, a few gaps were exposed during the campaign. The champions might look to refine the squad rather than rebuild. They will look to strengthen their bowling attack and add some all-round options too. RCB could target an all-rounder as a replacement for Livingstone and a backup pace-bowling option to complement the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yash Dayal.
Category: Retained
Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Manoj Bhandage, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chikara.
Category: Released
Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh, Rasikh Salam, Swapnil Singh.
DC Auction Strategy Explained– Their top-order batting has been an issue with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis struggling last season. DC are also expected to look for new fast bowling stocks at the auction.
Category: Retained
KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Viprag Nigam, Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs. Sameer Rizvi, Karun Nair, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Abishek Porel, Donovan Ferreira, Mukesh Kumar, Mitchell Starc
Category: Released
Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari
LSG Auction Strategy Explained- The Rishabh Pant conundrum will be a big concern – whether to retain, release or trade him since he did not deliver last season, neither as a batter nor a leader. They also need to sort out their spin department with Digvesh Rathi being the only decent performer. A call on their finishing arsenal also needs to be taken.
Category: Retained
Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Mayank Yadav, Akash Singh, William O’Rourke, Digvesh Rathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Akash Deep, M Siddharth.
Category: Released
Shardul Thakur, David Miller, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmad, Rajvardhan Hagargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Shamar Joseph.
GT Auction Strategy Explained – GT have a few underperforming or ageing players who might not add much value next season like Glenn Phillips or Ishant Sharma. GT will ideally look to release such players ahead of the IPL 2026 auction to free some budget for a few quality replacements and backups.
Category: Retained
Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, Rashid Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, R Sai Kishore, Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Anuj Rawat, and Gurnoor Brar.
Category: Released
Glenn Phillips, Gerald Coetzee, Ishant Sharma, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Jayant Yadav, Kulwant Khejroliya, Manav Suthar, and Kumar Kushagra
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