Chennai Super Kings
Well loved, well liked, a cult of the IPL but also often suddenly hugely uncompetitive, the CSK are clearly an enigma of the IPL- are they not?
Dhoni’s team, as it is still very much in this day and age referred to even as “Mahi” is no longer the captain shall enter the 2026 season with a refreshed core and a major trade boost. The team continues to blend experience with young talent.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, M.S. Dhoni, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis.
Traded in: Sanju Samson (from RR)
Released:
Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, C Andre Siddarth, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Sam Curran (to RR), Ravindra Jadeja (to RR), Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathirana.
Remaining purse: INR 43.40 crore
Mumbai Indians
Mighty- not just in the size of their competitiveness or the space that their trophy cabinet requires to accommodate 5 IPL crowns, the Mumbai Indians are also a very wealthy side. An adjective commonly used to describe a team whose owners are not just business tycoons but quite capable of measuring every ounce of existence with a price tag!
(Do not hold Kyrosports accountable for the above line, talk to the author of this piece, who replies to every single text sent to him, whether as rebuke or appreciation)
But what’s also true about a truly fascinating giant of a team called Mumbai Indians is that where the 2026 IPL season stands, then the Mumbai Indians look to rebuild around their strong leadership group while bringing in fresh faces through key trades.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa.
Traded in: Sherfane Rutherford (from GT), Mayank Markande (from KKR), Shardul Thakur (from LSG)
Released:
Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar (to LSG), Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur.
Remaining purse: INR 2.75 crore
Read More | IPL 2026 Retained Players : Full list of Players Retained
Kolkata Knight Riders
As popular as they are fiercely competitive, the KKR are one heck of a team. The three-time IPL winners enter the auction with the biggest purse, signalling a major rebuild while keeping their young core intact.
Current Squad / Retained Players
Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Varun Chakravarthy, Ramandeep Singh, Ankul Roy, Rovman Powell, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik.
Released:
Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Luvnith Sisodia, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson, Mayank Markande (to MI).
Remaining purse: INR 64.30 crore
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB focus on stability for 2026, retaining most of their core while aiming to strengthen their balance in the auction.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma.
Released
Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee.
Remaining purse: INR 16.40 crore
Punjab Kings
Always with a lot of heart, always with sincere intent, the Punjab Kings are one of a kind and shall be.
Punjab Kings have kept a large core intact, showing confidence in their young and experienced mix for the 2026 season.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyala Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod.
Released:
Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Pravin Dubey.
Remaining purse: INR 11.50 crore
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans head into the next season, i.e., the 2026 edition with a strong set of all-rounders and big names, supported by smart trades and retentions.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, 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, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Glenn Phillips.
Released:
Sherfane Rutherford (to MI), Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Dasun Shanaka, Gerald Coetzee, Kulwant Khejroliya.
Remaining purse: INR 12.90 crore
Rajasthan Royals
RR have made bold moves by bringing in two star all-rounders, signaling a fresh direction for their 2026 campaign.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger.
Traded in: Ravindra Jadeja (from CSK), Sam Curran (from CSK)
Released:
Sanju Samson (to CSK), Nitish Rana (to DC), Wanindu Hasaranga, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Maheesh Theekshana, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Rathore.
Remaining purse: INR 16.05 crore
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH keep their aggressive batting and strong overseas core, looking to build further with sizable auction funds.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari.
Released:
Mohammed Shami (to LSG), Adam Zampa, Rahul Chahar, Wiaan Mulder, Abhinav Manohar, Atharva Taide, Simarjeet Singh, Sachin Baby.
Remaining purse: INR 25.50 crore
Lucknow Super Giants
LSG have reshaped their bowling unit through key trades and now look to add depth across departments at the auction.
Current Squad / Retained Players:
Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh.
Traded in: Mohammed Shami (from SRH), Arjun Tendulkar (from MI)
Released:
Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shardul Thakur (to MI), Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph.
Remaining purse: INR 22.95 crore
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals keep a solid mix of all-round options while adding experience through the trade window.
Current Squad / Retained Players
Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera.
Traded in: Nitish Rana (from RR)
Released
Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Donovan Ferreira (to RR), Sediqullah Atal, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande.
Remaining purse: INR 21.80 crore