All IPL franchises will announce their retention lists on November 15, 2025. The auction happens exactly one month later on December 15. Teams are busy finalising which players will stay and which ones will leave.
Teams and Their Probable Retention:
Chennai Super Kings:
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Ravindra Jadeja
- MS Dhoni
- Matheesha
- Pathirana
- Noor Ahmad
- Shivam Dube
- Nathan Ellis
- Dewald Brevis
- Rachin Ravindra
- Ayush Mhatre
- Urvil Patel
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Mukesh Choudhary
- Anshul Kamboj
- Shaik Rasheed
Kolkata Knight Riders:
- Ajinkya Rahane
- Andre Russell
- Sunil Narine
- Rinku Singh
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Ramandeep Singh
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Anukul Roy
- Mayank Markande
- Harshit Rana
- Vaibhav Arora
- Spencer Johnson
- Umran Malik
Royal Challengers Bengaluru:
- Virat Kohli
- Phil Salt
- Rajat Patidar
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Tim David
- Jitesh Sharma
- Krunal Pandya
- Romario Shepherd
- Josh Hazlewood
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Suyash Sharma
- Jacob Bethell
Mumbai Indians:
- Hardik Pandya
- Rohit Sharma
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Surya Kumar Yadav
- Tilak Varma
- Trent Boult
- Ryan Rickelton
- Mitchell Santner
- Will Jacks
- Naman Dhir
- Raj Angad Bawa
- Shrijith Krishnan
- Bevon Jacobs
- Arjun Tendulkar
- Ashwani Kumar
Rajasthan Royals:
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Riyan Parag
- Dhruv Jurel
- Kunal Rathore
- Yudhvir Singh Charak
- Maheesh Theekshana
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Jofra Archer
- Akash Madhwal
- Kumar Kartikeya Singh
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Nandre Burger
- Ashok Sharma
Gujarat Titans:
- Shubman Gill
- Sai Sudharsan
- Jos Buttler
- Anuj Rawat
- Kumar Kushagra
- Rashid Khan
- Rahul Tewatia
- Washington Sundar
- Kagiso Rabada
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
- Gerald Coetzee
Punjab Kings:
- Shreyas Iyer
- Josh Inglis
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Nehal Wadhera
- Shashank Singh
- Priyansh Arya
- Harpreet Brar
- Marco Jansen
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Suryansh Shedge
- Arshdeep Singh
- Vijaykumar Vyshak
Lucknow Super Giants:
- Rishabh Pant
- Nicholas Pooran
- Aiden Markram
- Ayush Badoni
- Mitchell Marsh
- Abdul Samad
- Mayank Yadav
- Akash Singh
- M. Siddharth
- Akash Deep
- Shardul Thakur
- Digvesh Rathi
Delhi Capitals:
- Axar Patel
- KL Rahul
- Tristan Stubbs
- Abishek Porel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Jake Fraser-McGurk
- Mitchell Starc
- Sameer Rizvi
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Manvanth Kumar
- Darshan Nalkande
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
- Pat Cummins
- Travis Head
- Abhishek Sharma
- Heinrich Klaasen
- Atharva Taide
- Nitish Reddy
- Jaydev Unadkat
Unlimited Retention Changes Everything
IPL 2026 allows teams to retain unlimited players this time around. This new rule gives franchises more flexibility in building squads. The retained players in IPL 2026 will significantly shape team strategies.
Teams can keep their entire core group intact if desired. This removes the pressure of choosing only five or six players. Franchises now focus on releasing underperformers instead of retention numbers.
Chennai Super Kings want Sanju Samson badly from the Rajasthan Royals still. Kolkata Knight Riders are quietly chasing KL Rahul from the Delhi Capitals. These trade talks add excitement before the IPL 2026 auction.
Big Names Face Uncertain Future
KKR might release vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer due to poor form. His performances last season disappointed the team management badly here. The franchise needs consistent players who deliver under pressure situations.
Delhi Capitals plan to release eight players from their squad. Karun Nair and Dushmantha Chameera could leave DC before November 15. The team finished mid-table and wants major changes for IPL 2026.
A trade between the Rajasthan Royals and the Delhi Capitals collapsed recently. Both teams couldn’t agree on player exchanges for Sanju Samson. DC wanted to keep promising youngster Samir Rizvi out of discussions.
Dhoni Confirms Return
MS Dhoni will play next season after finally ending retirement rumours. His confirmation brings relief to CSK fans across India. The retained players in IPL 2026 include many experienced stars like him.
Teams are making tough calls about their retained players right now. The unlimited retention rule helps keep winning combinations together better. But franchises still release non-performers to create auction budgets available.
The November 15 deadline approaches fast for all ten teams involved. Cricket fans wait eagerly to see the final retention lists tomorrow.
