According to rumours, KKR is set to release a number of players. However, the core team is expected to be retained
The Indian Premier League 2026 is still
months away, but the excitement for next season has already started to build as franchises and fans look forward to the November 15 retention deadline. As always, rumours about possible releases and retentions are circulating on the internet, but to be honest, it is extremely tough to determine the decisions of franchises at this juncture.
Therefore, to find answers, we turned to AI and asked ChatGPT about the possible list of retained and released players for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), one of the most successful teams in IPL history.
Check out AI’s response to our query.
Release purse
According to ChatGPT, KKR's management could provide guidance to several players based on their performances in 2025 and price tags. Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell could be two names in the released list, given their performances were below par, and the two players cost nearly 50 crores to the franchise.
Even the likes of Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, and Ramandeep Singh could be out of the team to make a change in the squad's depth.
Change in captaincy
Given the noisy chatter on the internet, ChatGPT predicts that KKR could remove Ajinkya Rahane from captaincy. Given Rahane’s captaincy was outdated and Kock wasn’t too effective with the bat, KKR could gun for KL Rahul, given that he is a top-order wicketkeeper.
There were also rumours that Rohit Sharma would join the KKR franchise, but the Mumbai Indians recently took to X and dismissed the chatter. In a post, the franchise wrote, “𝗦𝘂𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 ye toh confirm hai, but at (K)night… मुश्किल ही नहीं, नामुमकिन है! (The sun will rise tomorrow again; it’s confirmed, but at (K)night? It’s not only tough but impossible.
Possible retentions
Moving on to retentions, ChatGPT predicts KKR will retain Rinku Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Sunil Narine -- most of these players aren’t too hefty on KKR’s pocket. Bowlers offer a mix of pace and spin, whereas the batters mentioned here have the ability to hit with pace down the pecking order.
Final verdict
ChatGPT ended its analysis by stating, “Expect KKR to retain their spin-centric identity (Narine–Varun) and domestic core (Rinku, Harshit), keep one express overseas quick, and release at least one big-salary batter/all-rounder (Venkatesh or Russell) to unlock funds—consistent with the Nov 15 cadence and reset rumours swirling around the franchise.
