From Venkatesh Iyer to Glenn Maxwell: List of players to likely be released ahead of IPL 2026 auction

With the IPL 2026 retention announcement right around the corner, each of the 10 franchises are set to soon reveal the players that will be featuring for them in the upcoming campaign. However, there are many players who will be released by each team and will either be traded or will have to enter the auction pool in order to find a new franchise.

Here are some of the notable stars who are likely to be released ahead of the IPL 2026 auction -

1. Chennai Super Kings - The five-time IPL champions are reportedly expected to release both Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. While Rachin had joined the franchise in the 2024 season, Conway has been with them since 2022 and had even won the title with them in the 2023 season.

2. Kolkata Knight Riders - The franchise is reportedly expected to release Venkatesh Iyer, despite signing him for a humongous fee of INR 23.75 crore. Though the batter had scored well for the side in previous campaigns, the 2025 season proved to be horrific for him as he finished with just 142 runs from 11 matches.

3. Mumbai Indians - The franchise is reportedly expected to release both Will Jacks and Deepak Chahar. Both the players had been acquired by them at the IPL 2025 auction for INR 5.25 crore and INR 9.25 crore respectively.

4. Lucknow Super Giants - The franchise will reportedly be parting ways with both Ravi Bishnoi and Mayank Yadav. Both the players had been retained by the franchise before the IPL 2025 auction, but now they are expected to release the two of them.

5. Punjab Kings - The franchise will reportedly be releasing Glenn Maxwell, who they had signed for INR 4.2 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. The Australian all-rounder underperformed big time during the season, scoring 48 runs and picking up 4 wickets.

6. Delhi Capitals - The franchise will reportedly be parting ways with both Jake Fraser-McGurk and T. Natarajan. While the former has been with the franchise since the 2024 season, the latter had been signed by them at the IPL 2025 auction for a fee of INR 10.75 crore.

7. Rajasthan Royals - Having already traded Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, the franchise will reportedly be releasing both Maheesh Theekshana and Fazalhaq Farooqi. They had signed both the players at the IPL 2025 auction for prices of INR 4.40 crore and INR 2 crore respectively.

8. Royal Challengers Bengaluru - The defending champions will reportedly be releasing Liam Livingstone from the team. They had signed the England all-rounder for a fee of INR 8.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction, but are expected to part ways with him after just one season.

9. Sunrisers Hyderbad - Having already traded Mohammed Shami to the Lucknow Super Giants for INR 10 crore, the franchise will reportedly be parting ways with spinner Rahul Chahar, who they had signed at the IPL 2025 auction for a fee of INR 3.2 crore.

10. Gujarat Titans - The franchise has already traded Sherfane Rutherford to the Mumbai Indians for a fee of INR 2.6 crore. They are expected to retain the core of their team that includes the likes of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rashid Khan and more.