Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, franchises delivered several unexpected decisions as they revealed their retention lists on Saturday. Months of speculation over potential trades had already built excitement, but the official announcements brought several major surprises. From Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis to Matheesha Pathirana and David Miller, multiple star players have been released by their teams. Here is the complete franchise-wise list of players who were let go.
Team-wise breakdown of players released before the IPL 2026 auction
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR have released nine players, with the biggest shock being Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer. The franchise also let go of Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Moeen Ali, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya, and Lubneeth Sisodia.
Also Read | Sanju Samson swaps to CSK while Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran join Rajasthan Royals in huge IPL 2026 trade
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
CSK released 10 players, including major names such as Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, and Matheesha Pathirana. Others released include Rahul Tripathi, Bansh Bedi, Andre Siddharth, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
While Arjun Tendulkar had already moved to LSG earlier, MI have released eight more players. The list includes Satyanarayana Raju, Reece Topley, KL Shrijith, Karan Sharma, Bevon Jacobs, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lizaad Williams, and Vignesh Puthur.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
DC chose not to retain Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk. They also released Sediqullah Atal, Manvant Kumar, Mohit Sharma, and Darshan Nalkande.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
After Shardul Thakur moved to Mumbai Indians via trade, LSG released David Miller, Akash Deep, and Ravi Bishnoi. Others dropped include Yuvraj Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Shamar Joseph, and Aaryan Juyal.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
PBKS have released five players, including Australian trio Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, and Glenn Maxwell. They also let go of Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Defending champions RCB have released eight players: Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, and Mohit Rathee.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
With Sherfane Rutherford already traded to MI, GT have released Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Dasun Shanaka, Gerald Coetzee, and Kulwant Khejroliya.
Also Read | Big boost for Lucknow Super Giants, Mohammed Shami joins the squad ahead of retentions
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
After Mohammed Shami’s trade move to LSG, SRH released seven more players: Rahul Chahar, Abhinav Manohar, Adam Zampa, Simarjit Singh, Wiaan Mulder, Atharva Taide, and Sachin Baby.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Having already traded out Sanju Samson and Nitish Rana, RR released Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kunal Rathore, and Ashok Sharma.
