- India,
- 15-Nov-2025 06:34 PM IST
The deadline for retaining players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 ended today at 3 PM. All 10 franchises have finalized their squads, including retentions, releases, and trade deals. Since this is a mini-auction year, there was no limit on the number of players each team could retain, which led to several surprising decisions.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) added Sanju Samson through a trade, while Ravindra Jadeja returned to Rajasthan Royals (RR). Similarly, Mohammed Shami has moved to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
These retentions not only reflect the teams’ long-term strategies but also highlight their focus on young Indian talent. All eyes are now on the mini-auction scheduled for December 16 in Abu Dhabi, where released players will go under the hammer.
Let’s take a team-wise look at retained and released players.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK kept their core strong but surprised fans by releasing young pacer Matheesha Pathirana. The biggest delight for fans is MS Dhoni’s retention. The arrival of Sanju Samson via trade is a major shake-up.
Retained Players (16):
Delhi Capitals (DC)
DC retained the spin duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, and brought in KL Rahul via trade. The release of Faf du Plessis is a major shock.
Retained Players (17):
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, KL Rahul, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraaj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurn Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Kumar, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana (Trade)
Released Players (7):
Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Donovan Ferreira, Sediqullah Atal, Manavanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, GT retained superstars Rashid Khan and Jos Buttler. The addition of Mohammed Siraj boosts their bowling attack.
Retained Players (19):
Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rashid Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav
Released Players (6):
Sherfane Rutherford, Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Dasun Shanaka, Gerald Coetzee, Kulwant Khejroliya
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
The release of Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer is a massive blow. However, they continue to trust Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
Retained Players (12):
Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik
Released Players (5):
Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Under Rishabh Pant, LSG added Mitchell Marsh and Mohammed Shami via trades. The release of Ravi Bishnoi is a controversial move.
Retained Players (19):
Rishabh Pant, Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Mayank Yadav, Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohammed Shami (Trade), Arjun Tendulkar (Trade)
Released Players (7):
David Miller, Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shamar Joseph, Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi
Mumbai Indians (MI)
The Rohit-Hardik leadership remains intact. MI added Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford via trade.
Retained Players (17):
Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Raj Angad Bawa, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Shardul Thakur (Trade), Sherfane Rutherford (Trade), Mayank Markande (Trade)
Released Players (9):
Satyanarayan Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacob, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Liyaz Williams, Vignesh Puthur
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
PBKS trusted Shreyas Iyer, but releasing Glenn Maxwell is surprising. Marcus Stoinis and other overseas players remain.
Retained Players (20):
Shreyas Iyer, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Mushir Khan, Harnur Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Shashank Singh, Payla Avinash, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar
Released Players (5):
Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Young talents Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag lead the squad, while Jadeja’s return feels like a homecoming. The trade for Sam Curran is a strong addition.
Retained Players (16):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer, Luhan du Preez, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja (Trade), Sam Curran (Trade)
Released Players (6):
Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashok Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Virat Kohli’s retention was obvious, but releasing Liam Livingstone shocked fans. Adding Bhuvneshwar Kumar strengthens the squad.
Retained Players (17):
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt, Josh Hazlewood, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Rasikh Salam, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh
Released Players (8):
Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mohit Rathee
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
With Pat Cummins and Heinrich Klaasen retained, SRH looks balanced. Trading out Mohammed Shami is a major decision.
Retained Players (15):
Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Ishan Malinga, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Aniket Verma
Released Players (8):
Abhinav Manohar, Arthav Taide, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Shami, Wiaan Mulder, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa