With the 10 franchises all confirm their retentions, rond major trades, the lead-up to the IPL 2026 auction is taking form. Many prominent players have moved teams, the balance of their purses has shifted dramatically, and many teams will go into the auction hoping to fill in the gaps.
Below is a comprehensive written analysis of each team’s squad position, the remaining purse, and the requirements before the IPL 2026 auction.
Key Trades Before the Auction
- Sanju Samson: To Chennai Super Kings from Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran
- Shardul Thakur to the Mumbai Indians from Lucknow Super Giants for 2 crore Indian Rupees
- Sherfane Rutherford: To Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans for INR 2.6 crore
- Arjun Tendulkar to Lucknow Super Giants from Mumbai Indians for INR 30 lakh
- Mohammed Shami: To Lucknow Super Giants from Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10 crore
- Mayank Markande: To Mumbai Indians from Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 30 lakh
- Nitish rana To Delhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals for INR 4.2 crore
- Donovan Ferreira: To Rajasthan Royals from Delhi Capitals for INR 1 crore
Team-by-Team Breakdown
Chennai Super Kings
released: Jadeja (traded), Curran (traded), Hooda, Conway, Rachin, Pathirana, Nagarkoti, Tripathi Rasheed, Bedi, Shankar Andre Siddarth
The team that was retained: Dhoni, Gaikwad, Samson (traded in), Brevis, Dube, Urvil Patel Noor Ahmad Ellis, Gopal, Khaleel Ghosh, Mukesh, Overton, Gurjapneet, Kamboj
Purse Left: Rs. 43.40 crore
Slots Remaining: 9 (4 overseas)
Auction The auction requires: A high-impact overseas all-rounder to replace Sam Curran, and a seam-bowling replacement for Ellis.
Delhi Capitals
Released/Traded Out Ferreira (traded), Nalkande, du Plessis, McGurk, Manvanth Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sediqullah Atal
Retained/Traded In: Nitish Rana (traded in), Porel, Mandal, Ashutosh, Axar, Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep, Natarajan, Stubbs, Rizvi, Chameera, Madhav Tiwari
Purse Left: Rs 21.80 crore
Slots Remaining: 8 (5 overseas)
Auction is in need of: Top-order batters and more overseas options after parting from du Plessis and McGurk.
Gujarat Titans
Released/Traded out: Rutherford (traded to), Shanaka, Coetzee, Janat, Khejroliya, Lomror
Retained: Rawat, Phillips, Brar, Ishant, Jayant, Buttler, Rabada, Kushagra, Sindhu, Krishna Tewatia, Rashid, Sudharsan Shahrukh, Gill, Sundar, Siraj, others
Purse Left: Rs12.90 crore
Slots Remaining: 5 (4 overseas)
Auctions Need: A finishing batter and at minimum one allrounder to help make up the middle order.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Released: Russell, Nortje, Sakariya, Sisodia, Moeen Ali, de Kock, Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Venkatesh Iyer
Retained: Rahane, Raghuvanshi, Anukul, Harshit, Pandey, Ramandeep, Rinku, Powell, Narine, Umran, Varun, Vaibhav
Purse Left: Rs64.30 crore
Slots Remaining: 13 (6 overseas)
Auctions require: A wicketkeeper, an opener and an all-rounder. Their enormous purse provides them with complete flexibility.
Lucknow Super Giants
Released/Traded out: Miller, Bishnoi, Hangargekar, Shardul (traded out), Akash Deep, Joseph, Aryan Juyal
Retained/Traded In Abdul Samad, Markram, Arjun Tendulkar (traded in), Avesh, Shami (traded in), Pooran, Pant, Marsh, Mohsin, Breetzke
Purse Left: Rs22.95 crore
Slots Remaining: 6 (4 overseas)
Auction requires: Replacements for Miller and Bishnoi, along with an all-rounder of high quality.
Mumbai Indians
Released/Traded out: Arjun Tendulkar (traded out), Jacobs, Karn Sharma, Williams, Mujeeb, Topley
Retained/Traded In: Shardul (traded in), Rutherford (traded in), Markande (traded in), Hardik, Bumrah, Rohit, Boult, Santner, Rickelton, Suryakumar, Chahar, Jacks
Purse Left: Rs2.75 crore
Slots Remaining: 5 (1 overseas)
Auction Requirements: Minimal activity expected because of the limited budget and a well-balanced squad.
Punjab Kings
Released: Maxwell, Inglis, Hardie, Jamieson, Sen, Dubey
Retained: Arshdeep, Omarzai, Brar, Ferguson, Jansen, Stoinis, Iyer, Chahal, Bartlett, Wadhera, Prabhsimran, others
Purse Left: Rs11.50 crore
Slots Remaining: 4 (2 overseas)
Auction Needs: Expect a quiet auction — squad looks settled.
Rajasthan Royals
Released/Traded out: Samson (traded), Rana (traded), Madhwal, Sharma, Farooqi, Kartikeya, Rathore, Theekshana Hasaranga
Retained/Traded In: Ferreira (traded in), Jadeja (traded in), Curran (traded in), Jurel, Archer, Parag, Hetmyer, Burger, Jaiswal
Purse Left: Rs16.05 crore
Slots Remaining: 9 (1 overseas)
Auction requirements: Multiple spin options and a skilled fast bowler.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Released: Livingstone, Ngidi, Agarwal, Bhandage, Chikara, Rathee
Retained: Kohli, Salt, Padikkal, Patidar, David, Krunal, Shepherd, Jitesh, Hazlewood, Dayal, Nuwan Thushara
Purse Left: Rs16.40 crore
Slots Remaining: 8 (2 overseas)
Auction requires: Overseas fast-bowling backup for Hazlewood and an Indian seam replacement for Dayal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Released/Traded Out: Shami (traded), Taide, Baby, Manohar, Mulder, Zampa, Simarjeet, Chahar
Retained: Abhishek, Carse, Dubey, Harshal, Klaasen, Ishan, Unadkat, Cummins, Head, Mendis, Nitish Reddy
Purse Left: Rs 25.50 crore
Slots Remaining: 10 (2 overseas)
Auction is in need of: Two spinners, an allrounder, and Indian quick bowler.
