Playing 11 of released players ahead of IPL 2026 Auction ft. Matheesha Pathirana, Andre Russell

All 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises unveiled their retentions ahead of the upcoming 2026 auction on Saturday, November 15. The five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and three-time winners, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), are set to undergo major overhauls. They released 11 and nine players, respectively. With that, the Knight Riders have the biggest purse ahead of the IPL 2026 auction – INR 64.30. The Super Kings have also cleared up INR 43.40 crore.

Interestingly, the reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have also released eight players, including England all-rounder Liam Livingstone.

Several other star players were also released by their respective IPL franchises. They are Matheesha Pathirana (CSK), Anrich Nortje, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer (KKR trio), Faf du Plessis (Delhi Capitals), David Miller, Ravi Bishnoi and Akash Deep (both Lucknow Super Giants), Glenn Maxwell (Punjab Kings), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rajasthan Royals), Rahul Chahar, and Adam Zampa (both SunRisers Hyderabad), among others.

Playing 11 of released players ahead of IPL 2026 Auction ft. Matheesha Pathirana, Andre Russell

Top order - Mayank Agarwal, Quinton de Kock, and Venkatesh Iyer

Mayank Agarwal and Quinton de Kock form a quality opening pair. De Kock is known for giving a swashbuckling start, while Mayank is known to play the anchor’s role. Venkatesh Iyer can play at No. 3.

Notably, Mayank has a wealth of experience playing in the IPL. The right-handed batter has amassed 2756 runs in 131 matches at a strike rate of 133.52, including one ton and 13 half-centuries. He won the IPL 2025 title with RCB. Like Mayank, de Kock is a seasoned player in the IPL. The South African wicketkeeper-batter has scored 3,309 runs in 115 games at a strike rate of 134.02, comprising two centuries and 24 fifties.

Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer has scored 1468 runs in 62 matches at a strike rate of 137.32 with the help of one century and 12 fifties. He was one of the costliest picks in the IPL 2025 auction. Notably, KKR bought him for a whopping INR 23.75 crore.

Middle-order – Rahul Tripathi, Abhinav Manohar, Mahipal Lomror, and Andre Russell

Rahul Tripathi is an experienced player who can play at No. 4. The 34-year-old has amassed 2291 runs in 100 matches at a strike rate of 137.84, including 12 half-centuries.

Manohar and Lomror will be another two Indian players slotted in the middle order - No. 5 and 6, respectively, to form a solid Indian core.

Lomror has been released from the Gujarat Titans (GT) after warming the bench for the entire 2025 season. The left-handed batter had an impressive outing with RCB in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, scoring a combined 346 runs in 29 matches at a strike rate of 155.86, including a fifty. On the other hand, Lomror has scored 292 runs in 27 games at a strike rate of 124.25.

Russell will be the star all-rounder at No. 7. With 9449 runs and 497 wickets in 574 T20s, the 37-year-old will provide the experience and stability in both the batting and bowling departments. In IPL, he has picked up 2651 runs and scalped 123 wickets. He scored 222 runs and bagged 19 wickets when the Knight Riders won the IPL trophy in 2024.

Bowling unit – Wanindu Hasaranga, Akash Deep, Ravi Bishnoi, and Matheesha Pathirana

Former World No.1-ranked T20I bowler Wanindu Hasaranga will be the front-line spinner in the lineup. The leg-spinner has picked up 325 wickets in 233 matches at an economy rate of 6.97. With 2,439 runs in 177 innings at a strike rate of 144.14, including nine fifties, he is also a handy batter in the lower order.

Meanwhile, Bishnoi and Akash make themselves default picks in the bowling department owing to their international experience with the Men in Blue. Bishnoi has made rapid strides in T20s since his debut in 2019, picking up 185 wickets in 159 matches.

Meanwhile, Akash has been a regular feature for Team India in Tests. The speedster has a decent T20 record, picking up 52 wickets in 48 matches at an economy rate of 8.20. With room for improvement, the 28-year-old can be a front-line seamer among the players released ahead of IPL 2026 auction.

Pathirana has developed himself into a death-bowler specialist after being groomed at CSK. The speedster is known for nailing yorkers, bowling primarily from the 14th to 20th overs. The Sri Lankan pacer has 47 wickets in 32 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.68.

Click here to check out the full list of released players ahead of IPL 2026 auction.