New Delhi: All ten Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises announced their list of retained and released players ahead of the mini-auction, which is set
to take place in December. There has been a lot of chatter on social media around the players, and some interesting trades have already taken place before the retentions.
The deadline to submit the retained player list ahead of the auction was set for Saturday, November 15. The IPL franchises are allowed to retain as many players as they want ahead of the mini-auction, but the squad size cannot exceed the limit of 25 players. The total purse size for each franchise is Rs 120 crore.
There is no official confirmation on the auction date. But according to the multiple reports, the auction is likely to take place in Abu Dhabi on December 16. Some of the big trades have already taken place before the retention deadline, with Sanju Samson moving to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), while Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran traded to Rajasthan Royals.
CSK also released Matheesha Pathirana, and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell ahead of the mini-auction. Here is the list of the shocking player releases from the 2026 IPL retentions.
Ravindra Jadeja (Traded to RR)
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have traded Ravindra Jadeja to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Sanju Samson. As per the trade agreement, the all-rounders league fee has been revised from Rs 18 crore to Rs 14 crore. Jadeja joined CSK in 2012 and has played 12 seasons with the franchise.
He won three titles with CSK (2018, 2021, and 2023) and also captained them in 2012. Overall, Jadeja has played 186 matches and picked up 143 wickets, also scoring 2198 runs.
Sanju Samson (Traded to CSK)
Sanju Samson has joined CSK from RR in a trade deal at his existing league fee of Rs 18 crore. Samson played 11 seasons with RR after joining the team in 2013. After RR’s two-year suspension, Samson returned to the franchise in 2018 and became the captain in 2021. Under his captaincy, RR qualified for their first final since 2008 in 2022.
Samson was retained by the Rajasthan-based franchise for Rs 18 crore in 2025, but a side injury ruled him out of the half-season. He became RR’s leading run scorer in IPL and Champions League, amassing 4219 runs in 155 matches at a strike rate of above 140.
Mohammed Shami (Traded to LSG)
Mohammed Shami has been traded to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a Rs 10 crore deal. The fast bowler last played for India during the 2025 Champions Trophy final in March 2025, and was not picked for the home Test series against the West Indies and South Africa.
Shami was also not selected for the five-match Test series against England, despite performing well in domestic cricket. He played nine games for SRH last season and took just six wickets at an economy rate of 11.23. The pacer was bought by SRH for Rs 10 crore at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 after he delivered brilliant performances in the powerplay during his stint at Gujarat Titans (2022-24).
He missed IPL 2024 due to an injury, and his powerplay performance in IPL 2025 was poor, with just five wickets in nine innings at an economy of 10.3.
Andre Russell (Released)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have released the West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. He was retained by the Kolkata-based franchise for Rs 12 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Russell joined KKR in 2014 and played 10 seasons for the franchise.
He has played over 133 matches for KKR, scoring 2,593 runs at an average of 28.81 with a strike rate of 174.97. He also picked up 123 wickets.
Matheesha Pathirana (Released)
Chennai Super Kings have released fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana ahead of IPL 2026. He was retained by the franchise before the 2025 mega auction for Rs 13 crore. Pathirana played a crucial role in CSK’s title win in 2023, taking 19 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of 8.01. The franchise has now decided to release Pathirana with a possibility of buying him back at the auction.
Faf Du Plessis (Released)
South African batter Faf du Plessis has been released by Delhi Capitals (DC). He was picked by the Delhi-based franchise for the base price of Rs 2 crore. He has represented multiple franchises, including Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He had an underwhelming season last year, scoring only 202 runs in nine games. He also led the Delhi Capitals in a couple of matches when regular skipper Axar Patel was unavailable.
