IPL retention plays a crucial role in shaping each team’s strategy before the mega auction. Franchises keep their core players based on performance, future potential, leadership, and team balance. Released players enter the auction pool, giving other teams a chance to rebuild. These decisions directly impact team stability and upcoming season planning.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Retained
Released
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Rachin Ravindra* (NZ)
MS Dhoni
Sam Curran* (ENG) (Trade to RR)
Dewald Brevis* (SA)
Rahul Tripathi
Urvil Patel
Vansh Bedi
Ayush Mhatre
Andre Siddarth
Jamie Overton* (ENG)
Ravindra Jadeja (Trade to RR)
Shreyas Gopal
Deepak Hooda
Nathan Ellis* (AUS)
Vijay Shankar
Shivam Dube
Shaik Rasheed
Gurjapneet Singh
Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Noor Ahmad* (AFG)
Matheesha Pathirana* (SL)
Mukesh Choudhary
Devon Conway* (NZ)
Ramakrishna Ghosh
Ravichandran Ashwin (Retired)
Anshul Kamboj
Khaleel Ahmed
Sanju Samson (Trade in from RR)
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Retained
Released
KL Rahul
Donovan Ferreira* (SA) (Trade to RR)
Axar Patel
Faf du Plessis* (SA)
Abishek Porel
Sediqullah Atal* (AFG)
Tristan Stubbs* (SA)
Jake Fraser-McGurk* (AUS)
Karun Nair
Darshan Nalkande
Mitchell Starc* (AUS)
Mohit Sharma
Ashutosh Sharma
Manvanth Kumar
Vipraj Nigam
D. Chameera* (SL)
Kuldeep Yadav
Madhav Tiwari
Sameer Rizvi
T. Natarajan
Mukesh Kumar
Ajay Mandal
Tripurana Vijay
Nitish Rana (Trade in from RR)
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Retained
Released
Shubman Gill
Gerald Coetzee* (SA)
Sai Sudharsan
Dasun Shanaka* (SL)
Rashid Khan* (AFG)
Karim Janat* (AFG)
Glenn Phillips* (NZ)
Mahipal Lomror
Jos Buttler* (ENG)
Sherfane Rutherford* (WI) (Trade to MI)
Nishant Sindhu
Kulwant Khejroliya
Anuj Rawat
Washington Sundar
Kagiso Rabada* (SA)
Shahrukh Khan
Rahul Tewatia
Arshad Khan
Mohammed Siraj
Prasidh Krishna
Ishant Sharma
Sai Kishore
Kumar Kushagra
Manav Suthar
Gurnoor Singh Brar
Jayant Yadav
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Retained
Released
Ajinkya Rahane
Spencer Johnson* (AUS)
Rinku Singh
Andre Russell* (WI)
Sunil Narine* (WI)
Quinton de Kock* (SA)
Varun Chakaravarthy
Venkatesh Iyer
Rovman Powell* (WI)
Anrich Nortje* (SA)
Harshit Rana
Luvnith Sisodia
Ramandeep Singh
Rahmanullah Gurbaz* (AFG)
Vaibhav Arora
Mayank Markande (Trade to MI)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Chetan Sakariya
Manish Pandey
Moeen Ali* (ENG)
Anukul Roy
Umran Malik
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Retained
Released
Rishabh Pant
Akash Deep
Prince Yadav
David Miller* (SA)
Nicholas Pooran* (WI)
Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Aiden Markram* (SA)
Ravi Bishnoi
Avesh Khan
Aryan Juyal
Matthew Breetzke* (SA)
Shardul Thakur (Trade to MI)
Abdul Samad
Yuvraj Chaudhary
Mitchell Marsh* (AUS)
Shahbaz Ahamad
Arshin Kulkarni
Mayank Yadav
Himmat Singh
Mohsin Khan
M. Siddharth
Digvesh Rathi
Ayush Badoni
Akash Singh
Arjun Tendulkar (Trade in from MI)
Mohammed Shami (Trade in from SRH)
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Retained
Released
Rohit Sharma
Lizaad Williams* (SA)
Hardik Pandya
Satyanarayana Raju
Will Jacks* (AUS)
Bevon Jacobs* (SA)
Ryan Rickelton* (SA)
KL Shrijith
Tilak Varma
Karn Sharma
Suryakumar Yadav
Reece Topley* (ENG)
Trent Boult* (NZ)
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman* (AFG)
Mitchell Santner* (NZ)
Arjun Tendulkar (Trade to LSG)
Jasprit Bumrah
Vignesh Puthur
Corbin Bosch* (SA)
Raj Bawa
Naman Dhir
Robin Minz
Deepak Chahar
Mayank Markande (Trade in from KKR)
Raghu Sharma
Allah Ghazanfar* (AFG)
Ashwani Kumar
Shardul Thakur (Trade in from LSG)
Sherfane Rutherford (WI) – Trade from GT*
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Retained
Released
Shreyas Iyer
Josh Inglis* (AUS)
Xavier Bartlett* (AUS)
Kuldeep Sen
Prabhsimran Singh
Glenn Maxwell* (AUS)
Marcus Stoinis* (AUS)
Aaron Hardie* (AUS)
Azmatullah Omarzai* (AFG)
Praveen Dubey
Vishnu Vinod
Shashank Singh
Harnoor Pannu
Priyansh Arya
Marco Jansen* (SA)
Pyla Avinash
Harpreet Brar
Musheer Khan
Suryansh Shedge
Mitch Owen* (AUS)
Nehal Wadhera
Yuzvendra Chahal
Vyshak Vijaykumar
Yash Thakur
Arshdeep Singh
Lockie Ferguson* (NZ)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Retained
Released
Josh Hazlewood* (AUS)
Lungi Ngidi* (SA)
Virat Kohli
Liam Livingstone* (ENG)
Tim David* (AUS)
Tim Seifert* (NZ)
Krunal Pandya
Swastik Chhikara
Phil Salt* (ENG)
Manoj Bhandage
Jacob Bethell* (ENG)
Mayank Agarwal
Jitesh Sharma
Mohit Rathee
Devdutt Padikkal
Romario Shepherd* (WI)
Suyash Sharma
Rajat Patidar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Rasikh Salam
Yash Dayal
Swapnil Singh
Nuwan Thushara* (SL)
Abhinandan Singh
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Retained
Released
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Fazalhaq Farooqi* (AFG)
Jofra Archer* (ENG)
Nitish Rana (Trade to DC)
Ravindra Jadeja – Trade in from CSK
Akash Madhwal
Shimron Hetmyer* (WI)
Maheesh Theekshana* (SL)
Fazalhaq Farooqi* (AFG)
Wanindu Hasaranga* (SL)
Dhruv Jurel
Sanju Samson (Trade to CSK)
Riyan Parag
Kunal Singh Rathore
Yudhvir Singh Charak
Kumar Kartikeya
Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Ashok Sharma
Tushar Deshpande
Shubham Dubey
Kwena Maphaka* (SA)
Nandre Burger* (SA)
Lhuan-dre Pretorius* (SA)
Donovan Ferreira (SA) – Trade in from DC*
Sam Curran (ENG) – Trade in from CSK*
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Retained
Released
Travis Head* (AUS)
Mohammed Shami (Trade to LSG)
Abhishek Sharma
Adam Zampa* (AUS)
Jaydev Unadkat
Wiaan Mulder* (SA)
Brydon Carse* (ENG)
Sachin Baby
Ishan Kishan
Atharva Taide
Heinrich Klaasen* (SA)
Simarjeet Singh
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Rahul Chahar
Pat Cummins* (AUS)
Abhinav Manohar
Kamindu Mendis* (SL)
Harshal Patel
R Smaran
Harsh Dubey
Aniket Verma
Eshan Malinga* (SL)
Zeeshan Ansari
IPL player retention is much more than just a list of names—it is the foundation on which every franchise builds its strategy for the upcoming season. By carefully choosing which players to keep and which to release, teams strike a balance between stability and renewal. Retained players form the trusted core, bringing experience, chemistry, and consistency, while released players create opportunities for new talent and improved combinations through the auction. This thoughtful mix of continuity and change ensures that every IPL season remains competitive, unpredictable, and exciting for fans. Ultimately, retention decisions reflect a team’s vision, long-term planning, and the ever-evolving dynamics of modern T20 cricket.
