IPL teams have released major players ahead of the 2026 mini-auction.[Photo: X]
The IPL retention deadline has triggered one of the most dramatic reshuffles in recent years. Teams have released several big names, opened up large purse amounts, and executed major trades ahead of next year’s mini-auction. The trade window saw the biggest headline of all—Ravindra Jadeja’s stunning move from Chennai Super Kings to Rajasthan Royals, with Sanju Samson moving to CSK in a rare high-profile swap.
Along with Jadeja, CSK released Matheesha Pathirana and Devon Conway, freeing up massive funds. Kolkata Knight Riders also made bold decisions by letting go of Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer. The Mumbai Indians released nine players, including Arjun Tendulkar, but none were major stars.
A clear pattern is visible: teams are reshaping cores, focusing on value-based selections, and preparing for a long-term reset toward IPL 2026 and beyond.
Chennai Super Kings (Purse: ₹43.4 crore) made the biggest move by trading out Ravindra Jadeja. They also released several senior players to overhaul the squad.
Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathiran, Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, C Andre Siddharth, Devon Conway, Sam Curran (traded out), Ravindra Jadeja (traded out).
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmed, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary
Sanju Samson (from RR)
Kolkata Knight Riders made one of their boldest calls in years by releasing long-time star Andre Russell and high-value buy Venkatesh Iyer.
Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande (traded out), Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Luvnit Sisodia
Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Angrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik.
None
Mumbai Indians (Purse: ₹2.75 crore) released nine players while adding Sherfane Rutherford, Shardul Thakur and Mayank Markande.
Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Srijith, Karn Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar (traded out), Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizard Williams, Vignesh Puthir
Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Michell Santner, Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Raghu Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar
Sherfane Rutherford, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande
RR made the biggest splash by bringing in Jadeja and Sam Curran.
Sanju Samson (traded out), Nitish Rana (traded out), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Kunal Singh Rathore, Fazhalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Vaibhav Suryavnashi, Shubham Pandey, Lhuan Dre-Pretorius, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Yudhvir Singh, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger
Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira
Liam Livingstone, Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee, Blessing Murazabani
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Swapnil Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh
Mohammed Shami (traded out), Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Simarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Pat Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari.
Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sediqullah Atal, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreria (Traded out)
Dasun Shanaka, Karim Janat, Sherfane Rutherford (traded out), Mahipal Lomror, Gerald Coetzee, Kulwant Khejroliya.
Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Jos Buttler, Anuj Rawat, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Jayant Yadav, Nishant Sindhu, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Kishore, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan, Ishant Sharma, Manav Suthar.
Aryan Juyal, David Miller, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shardul Thakur (Traded out), Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph
This retention cycle shows a clear direction—franchises are preparing for a multi-year rebuild ahead of the next mega auction. Teams are focusing on young Indian talent, value-for-money overseas picks, and role-specialists instead of marquee names. The next mini-auction will be shaped heavily by these bold calls.
