As the Indian Premier League entered retention-eve, the long-awaited lists from all ten franchises finally landed on Saturday — and they arrived framed by one of the most dramatic trade windows the league has witnessed in recent cycles.
The confirmation of retained cores came on the heels of a flurry of high-impact player movements, signalling that teams have already begun shaping the competitive landscape for IPL 2026.
Here is everything you need to know about the retentions and releases.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2026 Retention List
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the reigning champions of last year, made a cluster of decisive cuts while signalling confidence in some of their long-term investments.
The franchise released Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chikara, Manoj Bhandage and Mohit Rathee.
RCB retained 16 players, including star batters Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar, alongside all-rounders Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd. The bowling unit includes Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and pacer Yash Dayal.
One of the most intriguing decisions was RCB’s choice to retain left-arm pacer Yash Dayal. Despite not having played any competitive cricket since the IPL 2025 final on June 3 — and having missed the UP T20 League and the early Ranji Trophy fixtures due to ongoing legal issues — the management’s continued faith indicates confidence in his availability for IPL 2026.
RCB now enter the mini-auction with Rs 16.4 crore remaining and eight slots to fill, leaving room to reinforce key areas as they refine their squad for the upcoming season.
Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Retention List
Punjab Kings, unlike several other franchises, opted for stability but still executed a significant restructuring across roles.
Their retained squad features a deep batting reservoir with Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Musheer Khan, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh. The all-rounders include Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Shashank Singh. The bowling group retains Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Lockie Ferguson.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
However, this stability was balanced with decisive exits.
Punjab Kings moved on from several players, including Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, and Praveen Dubey.
PBKS enter the mini-auction with Rs 11.5 crore remaining and four slots left, including two overseas positions — a clear indication that they will pursue targeted, high-impact additions.
Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 Retention List
Rajasthan Royals, by contrast, executed an extensive reset.
The team released Sanju Samson (traded to CSK) and Nitish Rana (traded to DC), alongside Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, and Kumar Kartikeya. They solidified their squad with trades for Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Donovan Ferreira.
The Royals retained core names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, and pacer Jofra Archer. RR also strengthened their core with an expanded retained group, headlined by Donovan Ferreira — acquired via trade from Delhi Capitals — along with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, both brought in from Chennai Super Kings during the high-profile trade window.
The franchise kept faith in a balanced mix of experience and emerging talent, retaining 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 and Yudhvir Singh.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
This consolidated core forms the foundation of Rajasthan’s renewed push to rebound strongly in IPL 2026.
Read Also | Rajasthan Royals Retention List: From Jadeja to Yashasvi Jaiswal to Sanju Samson, full list of players traded, retained or released by RR
RR will head into the IPL 2026 auction with Rs 16.05 crore, nine available slots, and one overseas position to fill — a crucial opportunity after a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign that saw them finish ninth on the table.
Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2026 Retention List
Kolkata Knight Riders’ list of departures featured several big names — Spencer Johnson, Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali and Anrich Nortje — signalling a decisive shift in squad planning. With these exits confirmed, all other members of KKR’s core group remain retained as the franchise prepares for a substantial rebuild at the mini-auction.
Full list of retained/traded in: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Charkravarthy
Read Also | KKR Retention List: Russell, Venkatesh and de Kock released ahead of IPL 2026; check full list
KKR head into the mini-auction with a massive financial advantage, carrying Rs 64.3 crore, the highest purse among all teams.
Chennai Super Kings IPL 2026 Retention List
Chennai Super Kings, the most active team in terms of exits, released 11 players including Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana and the already-traded pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Their reshaping extended to the Indian contingent with Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Shaikh Rasheed, Andre Siddarth, Vansh Bedi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti also making way.
CSK have also acquired marquee signing Sanju Samson along with the rest of their unchanged squad members, entering the mini-auction with one of the strongest purses of any franchise.
With Samson arriving as their marquee addition, CSK enter the mini-auction with one of the strongest war chests, holding Rs 43.4 crore to deploy.
Delhi Capitals IPL 2026 Retention List
Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals took a measured but comprehensive route to retention, opting for stability across departments while reinforcing key areas through the trade window.
Their batting group has been anchored by Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, and Karun Nair. The wicketkeeping duties remain with KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel, while the all-round contingent continues to be one of the most diverse in the league, featuring Axar Patel, Tripuranha Vijay, and Ajay Mandal. Delhi’s bowling unit has retained its proven spine of Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, and T Natarajan.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
The franchise released Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Sediqullah Atal, while Darshan Nalkande and Donovan Ferreira exited as part of trade moves — the latter making his way to Rajasthan Royals.
With Rs 21.8 crore still available and eight slots—including five overseas—yet to be filled, DC enter the mini-auction with both balance and flexibility, positioning themselves for targeted additions ahead of IPL 2026.
Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2026 Retention List
Sunrisers Hyderabad followed a similarly structured approach, combining continuity with selective release. The franchise now head into the auction with a sizeable Rs 25.5 crore purse.
Their retained core features a strong international presence through Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins and Brydon Carse, supported by domestic mainstays Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kamindu Mendis, Jaydev Unadkat, Aniket Verma, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey and Zeeshan Ansari.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
In contrast, SRH parted ways with Abhinav Manohar, Atharva Taide, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Smarjeet Singh, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa and senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami, whose trade to Lucknow Super Giants had already signalled a key shift in their bowling dynamics.
Gujarat Titans IPL 2026 Retention List
Gujarat Titans, in addition, adopted a retention strategy built on continuity, proven performers and leadership stability, and have Rs 12.9 crore remaining in their kitty.
The franchise has held on to its core group, led by captain Shubman Gill, alongside marquee names Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Jos Buttler and Mohammed Siraj. Supporting them is a solid mix of domestic and international contributors including Prasidh Krishna, Nishant Sindhu, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav and the versatile Glenn Phillips.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
GT released Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Gerald Coetzee, Dasun Shanaka and Mahipal Lomror, creating room for calculated reinforcements at the auction.
Mumbai Indians IPL 2026 Retention List
Mumbai Indians took on a decisive approach ahead of the mini-auction, moving on from several players while strengthening key areas through targeted additions. The franchise released V Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karm Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams and Vignesh Puthur, while Arjun Tendulkar exited via trade.
Read Also | Mumbai Indians Retention List: Arjun Tendulkar traded out, Sherfane Rutherford signed — full list of released and retained players
On the retention front, MI have kept faith in Will Jacks, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mayank Markande — the latter joining through a trade — along with Sherfane Rutherford, who comes in as a new signing, and promising pacer Gurjapneet Singh.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
With a relatively modest Rs 2.75 crore remaining, MI enter the mini-auction with limited financial bandwidth, making strategic precision essential as they finalise their IPL 2026 squad.
Lucknow Super Giants IPL 2026 Retention List
Lucknow Super Giants made minimal overseas changes but executed a few noteworthy domestic moves.
Apart from releasing big-hitting veteran David Miller, the franchise also let go of West Indies quick Shamar Joseph. Among Indian departures, the most surprising was Akash Deep — signed for Rs 8.25 crore last season — who now returns to the auction pool. Also released were Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajavardhan Hangargekar, Shardul Thakur, and Ravi Bishnoi.
However, LSG have doubled down on their long-term investment in Mayank Yadav, reinforcing their commitment to the young express pacer despite his injury interruptions. His retained presence continues to shape the franchise’s fast-bowling identity.
Full list of retained/traded in: 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
LSG head into the auction with Rs 22.95 crore and six slots remaining, giving them ample room to chase impactful additions.
With retentions finalised, trades completed and squads significantly redrawn, the mini-auction now promises a compelling round of strategic manoeuvring. Teams have not merely trimmed excess but have recalibrated identities, placing IPL 2026 on the cusp of a distinctly new competitive narrative.