?unique=159f3b5)
“IPL 2026 retained players”, “team wise retention list”, “IPL retention 2026”
The IPL retention window for 2026 closed on 15 November 2025, with all 10 franchises naming their retained squads ahead of the mini-auction. Across the league 173 players were retained (including 49 overseas players), leaving 77 player slots for the auction — official figures released by the IPL. IPL T20
Below is a clean, SEO-friendly, team-by-team breakdown: number of retained players and the full retained list for each franchise (as published in the IPL media advisory). Use this for quick publishing, listicles, or long-form analysis posts.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — 16 players retained
Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, *Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, *Nathan Ellis, *Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson (T), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, *Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel. IPL T20
Why it matters: CSK kept a balanced core with MS Dhoni and Sanju Samson (captaincy confirmed in the retention list). Their retained list mixes proven veterans and young Indian talent — a classic CSK template that reduces auction pressure on leadership and middle order. IPL T20
Delhi Capitals (DC) — 17 players retained
Abhishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, *Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, *Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, Nitish Rana (T), Sameer Rizvi, T. Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, *Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam. IPL T20
Why it matters: A strong mix of frontline Indian batters and specialist overseas fast bowlers gives DC flexibility across formats. The trades and retentions place emphasis on pace and spin depth. IPL T20
Gujarat Titans (GT) — 20 players retained
Anuj Rawat, *Glenn Phillips, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, *Jos Buttler, *Kagiso Rabada, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Mohammad Siraj, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Prasidh Krishna, R. Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, *Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar. IPL T20
Why it matters: GT retained one of the largest cores (20), combining explosive overseas hitters with an experienced Indian bowling unit — they head to the auction with a relatively small purse compared with some rivals. IPL T20
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — 12 players retained
Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvansh i, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, *Rovman Powell, *Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy. IPL T20
Why it matters: KKR retained a compact core — the lowest number among teams — which gives them the largest auction purse (₹64.3 crore) to rebuild and chase marquee names at the mini-auction. IPL T20
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) — 19 players retained
Abdul Samad, *Aiden Markram, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar (T), Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Manimaran Siddharth, *Matthew Breetzke, Mayank Yadav, Md Shami (T), *Mitchell Marsh, Mohsin Khan, *Nicholas Pooran, Prince Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shahbaz Ahmed. IPL T20
Why it matters: LSG kept their frontline international stars plus a nucleus of Indian pace talent; Khaki’s balance suggests an aggressive auction strategy for finishing touches. IPL T20
Mumbai Indians (MI) — 20 players retained
*Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, *Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande (T), *Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Rohit Sharma, *Ryan Rickelton, Shardul Thakur (T), *Sherfane Rutherford (T), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, *Trent Boult, *Will Jacks. IPL T20
Why it matters: MI retained 20 players (one of the largest cores), keeping their top stars intact and leaving them with a small purse — they’ll be surgical at the auction. IPL T20
Punjab Kings (PBKS) — 21 players retained
Arshdeep Singh, *Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, *Lockie Ferguson, *Marco Jansen, *Marcus Stoinis, *Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, *Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal. IPL T20
Why it matters: PBKS retained the most players (21) — a statement of stability and faith in their current squad. That reduces the number of slots they must fill at the auction. IPL T20
Rajasthan Royals (RR) — 16 players retained
Dhruv Jurel, *Donovan Ferreira (T), *Jofra Archer, *Kwena Maphaka, *Lhuan-Dre Pretorious, *Nandre Burger, Ravindra Jadeja (T), Riyan Parag, *Sam Curran (T), Sandeep Sharma, *Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Tushar Deshpande, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Yudhvir Charak. IPL T20
Why it matters: RR mixed world-class overseas match-winners with a strong Indian batting core — retention moves show they kept their power hitters and spinners while freeing purse for strategic buys. IPL T20
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) — 17 players retained
Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, *Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma, *Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, *Nuwan Thushara, *Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Dar, *Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, *Tim David, Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal. IPL T20
Why it matters: RCB retained their batting spine around Virat Kohli plus overseas finishers — they’ll look for bowlers and all-rounders to complement the retained list. IPL T20
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) — 15 players retained
Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, *Brydon Carse, *Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, *Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, *Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, *Pat Cummins, Smaran Ravichandaran, *Travis Head, Zeeshan Ansari. IPL T20
Why it matters: SRH retained core international batsmen (Klaasen, Head) and frontline Indian talent; they released some big names to free purse and flexibility.