5 Players Who Might Be Released From Their Current Franchise In The Next Season Of The Indian Premier League 2026 Edition

5 Players Likely to Be Released Before IPL 2026 Auction

he franchise and the owners of all the ten teams will now look to see which player they would do not want to retain for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League. In this league. A team can retain six players in the auctions, five capped players and two uncapped players. Players can also be retained by using the Right To Match Card (RTM).

So, in this segment, today, we shall let our viewers and readers know the top five players who might not be retained in the next season of the Indian Premier League, which will be the 19th edition of the TATA IPL in 2026. These players gave a flop show in this TATA IPL 2025 season and many of them were brought for some whopping prices as well.

1. Rishabh Pant 

Will the franchise side of Lucknow Super Giants name a new captain for TATA IPL 2026? After LSG didn’t retain Kannur Lokesh Rahul, Mr Goneka, the owner of LSG invested heavily on India’s Test vice captain and the flamboyant wicketkeeper and batter Rishabh Pant.

Pant was also named as the captain of the Super Giants for the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League after he was bought for 27 crores, which is the most price that any player has got in the history of this cash rich league tournament. But Pant was a huge disappointment for his LSG fans and owner. He amassed just 269 runs in this season with one century and one half century.

Pant can be released by LSG and the franchise team can make an overseas player as their new skipper for the new season next year. LSG has the options of Pooran, Marsh, Markram, and Miller as their new skipper in the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League and Pant can fit in for CSK maybe as they don’t have any Indian wicketkeeper who will replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni after he retires from the IPL.

2.  Venkatesh Iyer 

The Kolkata Knight Riders also invested heavily on the young cricketer, Venkatesh Iyer, who can play as an opening batsman, the middle order and he can also bowl few overs whenever it is needed for the sake of the team. But the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League wasn’t that great for this youngster. Iyer managed to score just 142 runs to his name. 

KKR shouldn’t retain him for the 2026 IPL edition. Maybe, Punjab Kings can buy Venkatesh Iyer for his all round batting skills. The RCB side, who wanted Venkatesh may for him again in the next mini auctions, Andy Flower, the coach of the Bengaluru team backs Venkatesh to be in their team in TATA IPL 2026 season.

3.  Glenn Maxwell 

The spin bowling all rounder of the Aussie nation, Glenn Maxwell isn’t having a perfect time in the Indian Premier League for many seasons now. Apart from his performances in 2014 for Punjab and 2021 season for RCB, The Big Show has given no show in the seasons which he has played in this cash rich league tournament. Maxi was brought by Punjab Kings in this season. But he was a huge disappointment in the season. He scored just 48 runs from seven matches. 

Maxwell should be released from their squad and by looking at his performances, it doesn’t look like Glenn Maxwell is taking the IPL quite seriously and with this timepass approach to this league, no team would buy Maxwell in future. Maybe the IPL career of the spin bowler of the Aussie nation, Glenn Maxwell has been over because he may go unsold despite all the skills, talent and power hitting ability he has with him.

4.  Rachin Ravindra 

The opening batter from New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra played for the Yellow Army of the Chennai Super Kings in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League in this season. But apart from the first game, where Rachin scored a half century versus Mumbai Indians in a tricky run chase, Rachin didn’t deliver what CSK needed from him and that’s why he didn’t feature in all the matches which the Super Kings played after that. He played just eight matches and scored only 191 runs in the 2025 TATA IPL edition. 

CSK now as Ayush Mahatre as his replacement and the young opener, Ayush will certainly provide a solid opening stand with the CSK skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad in the next IPL editions to come. The Yellow Army might not retain Rachin Ravindra for the IPL 2026 season. KKR might need the services of Rachin because he is an opener and he can bowl also just like how Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali are in their squad.

5.  Ravichandran Ashwin 

The legendary spin bowling all rounder of the Test arena, Ravichandran Ashwin had made a good name in India’s T20 International team. He was in MSD’s squad in 2014 when India made it to their second finals of the T20 World Cup and Ash has also been good in the Indian Premier League tournament as well.

Ashwin is an experienced cricketer and he is that one player who thinks about the game very much. But despite all that, Ash didn’t perform well in the TATA IPL 2025 edition. He failed as an all rounder. He didn’t bat well nor he picked up wickets like his heydays with the white cherry. In the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League, Ashwin scored just 33 runs with the willow and picked up only seven wickets in nine matches played. Ash shouldn’t be retained from CSK in the TATA IPL 2026 edition. Maybe, it is the perfect time for the Test stalwart to announce his retirement from the Indian Premier League now.

Zaheer Khan Parts Ways with Lucknow Super Giants Ahead of IPL 2026

According to a Cricbuzz report dated June 4, Zaheer Khan is expected to leave Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after a disappointing IPL 2025 season. Zaheer's contract is unlikely to be extended. Ahead of the 2025 auction, he signed a one-year contract with the team as a mentor. 

With just six wins in 14 games, LSG finished seventh in the standings and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The management seems more than unhappy with Zaheer's influence, even though head coach Justin Langer's contract is also up for renewal. According to reports, owner Sanjiv Goenka is dissatisfied with the team's performance and direction, which could lead to changes ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League.