A list of players to be released by Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and other Indian Premier League (IPL) teams has been revealed.
England national cricket team all-rounders Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks, as well as India national cricket team all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, are among the major cuts ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction.
Venkatesh Iyer released after terrible IPL 2025 performance
Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer made a sensational start to his journey with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League as he played a key role in taking the team to the final in 2021.
Since then, he received great support from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management, and after being released ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, he was snapped up by the franchise for Rs 23.75 crore.
Iyer was appointed the vice-captain of the team, but had a poor performance in the Indian Premier League 2025, scoring just 142 runs at an average of 20.28. Now according to a report in Cricbuzz, he is all set to be released.
Along with Iyer, the three-time Indian Premier League champions have decided to release the Proteas pair of Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje as they aim to enter the auction with a purse of Rs 35-40 crore, which will allow them to target Cameron Green.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane is set to remain the captain after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) failed to get KL Rahul traded from Delhi Capitals (DC).
Talking about five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), they are ready to release Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar and Jamie Overton as well as trade Ravindra Jadeja to Rajasthan Royals for Sanju Samson.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be parting ways with Luan-Dre Pretorius, Mahesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqui and Kwena Mafaka.
Heinrich Klaasen to be retained by SRH
The biggest talking point ahead of the auction is whether Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will retain Heinrich Klaasen. However, now the same report has made it clear that the 2016 IPL champions will keep him in the squad for Rs 23 crore.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have decided to trade Mohammed Shami to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to free up some money. LSG have traded Shardul Thakur to Mumbai Indians (MI) and acquired Arjun Tendulkar while retaining Mayank Yadav.
However, the Rishabh Pant-led franchise will release David Miller, Akash Deep and Shamar Joseph. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will likely let go of Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Blessing Muzarabani, Rasikh Dar and Yash Dayal, while Mumbai Indians (MI) will release Will Jacks. Notably, Mumbai Indians (MI) have also traded Mayank Markandey.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will release Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Hardie, while Delhi Capitals will release T Natarajan and Jake Fraser-McGurk.
List of players released by 8 IPL teams:
| Team | Players set to be released (as reported by Cricbuzz) |
| Chennai Super Kings | Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton |
| MI | will jacks |
| rcb | Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Blessing Muzarabani, Rasikh Dar |
| KKR | Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje |
| lsg | Ravi Bishnoi, David Miller, Akash Deep, Shamar Joseph |
| DC | T Natarajan, Jake Fraser-McGurk |
| PBKS | Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardy |
| RR | Luan-Dre Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Kwena Mafaka |
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