IPL 2026 Auction: One Star Player Each Team Could Release

August 26, 20251 day Chennai Super Kings, Cricket, Cricket News, CSK, Delhi Capitals, GT, Gujarat Titans, Indian Premier League, Indian Premier League 2026, Indian Premier League News, IPL, IPL 2026, IPL News, IPLadda, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, LSG, Lucknow Super Giants, Mayank Yadav, MI, Mohammed Shami, Mumbai Indians, PBKS, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, RCB, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RR, SRH, Sunrisers Hyderabad, T20 Cricket 7 min read

From Glenn Maxwell to Venkatesh Iyer, explore the one star player each team is likely to release ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction.

Retentions and Releases are a part and parcel of every IPL franchise in the Indian Premier League universe. Every year, the tournament witnesses a Mini Auction alternating between a Mega Auction every three years. Since IPL 2025 was a Mega Auction, the years 2026 and 2027 shall witness Mini Auctions. Since the upcoming Auction is a Mini Auction, teams won’t make too many changes to their squad.

However, one thing is definitely sure: no team retains 100% of their existing players. Teams usually retain a core of players for the Mini Auction. They will release some supremely underperforming players, and some uncapped players with less potential. The reason for doing this is that there is an abundance of players, and it’s important for teams to keep looking for fresh blood in the Auction. This is how a team is able to grow, and finding future superstars becomes paramount for all teams.

Also, since the Auction is dynamic, teams sometimes end up paying more than what they intended for, for a player. So, in case that player doesn’t add much value, removing him is the best way forward. Identifying non-performing players isn’t difficult, as we need to look for players who don’t fit in the team anymore, or are expensive versus their performance. So, in this article, we will analyse the existing squad of all 10 teams, and find out one player whom the teams could release as a part of their IPL 2026 Released Player strategy ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction.

IPL 2026: One Big Player Each Team Could Release before Auction

#1: Ravichandran Ashwin – CSK

The first person on the list is Ravichandran Ashwin from CSK, and this should not even be a surprise. Not only has Ravichandran Ashwin’s form degraded completely, but his high price and offline YouTube discussions may lead to his exclusion from the CSK team. Ash has been quite vocal on CSK, and his thoughts have been mostly negative. Given his high price, and lack of value add in the team, expect CSK to release this high price tag from the team.

#2: T Natarajan – Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals’ management felt like a bunch of people who had the least interest in the IPL. On one hand, the DC management says Natarajan was injured, so we couldn’t play him. On the other hand, they say Natarajan doesn’t find a place in our best 11. Whatever the case, after paying a hefty 10 Cr, the team played him so late, and they dropped him after just a match. Given the sanity of DC management, it won’t be a surprise if they release Natarajan ahead of the IPL 2026 player Auction.

#3: Gerald Coetzee – GT

The Gujarat Titans team was without the services of Kagiso Rabada in IPL 2025. As a first-choice bowler, Rabada would have played almost all the matches for GT. But even after his absence, his backup, Gerald Coetzee, hardly played for GT. This shows GT doesn’t have a lot of confidence in Coetzee, and ultimately, by dropping Coetzee, GT may look for an additional Overseas batter in the side as their bowling is still super strong.

#4: Venkatesh Iyer – KKR

If there was an award for the most clueless management last year, it has to be the Kolkata Knight Riders. The team let go of their Captain Shreyas Iyer, and then bought Venkatesh Iyer for a whopping 24 Cr. If this wasn’t enough, the KKR management neither made him the Captain, nor asked him to play as an opener, nor used him as a bowler. The team also went on to drop Iyer after a few matches. So, what was the team trying to achieve by spending 24 Cr on a player who doesn’t add much to them? Surely, KKR should learn from their mistakes, and release Venkatesh Iyer in the Auction pool.

#5: Mayank Yadav – LSG

Injury, comeback, again injury, and out of action. That’s the story of supposedly the fastest bowler in India at the moment. Yes, we are talking about Mayank Yadav, whose career just failed to take off the moment he started playing in IPL. What’s worse is that teams are paying him a hefty 11 Cr, for services that look to have gone underground. Given his big issues with Mayank, it won’t be ideal for LSG to continue with him, especially when he is being paid heavily.

#6: Mujeeb ur Rahman – MI

The Mumbai Indians team in IPL 2025 had invested a lot of faith in Allah Ghazanfar. He was supposed to solve the spin issues for the team. But unfortunately, Allah Ghazanfar got injured before the tournament, and Mujeeb ur Rahman was roped in. Mujeeb, however, didn’t impress much, and was eventually dropped. Given that Ghazanfar is expected to make a comeback in IPL 2026, expect the Mumbai Indians to release Mujeeb ur Rahman.

#7: Glenn Maxwell – PBKS

If there were an award for the worst and least interested player to play in the Indian Premier League over the last 8-10 years, the award would go to Glenn Maxwell. Year-on-year, Maxwell gets purchased at a brazenly heavy price, but his performance is mostly the opposite of what he is being paid for. Even under Ponting and Iyer, Maxwell gave his worst performance. With so many Overseas options available with the Punjab Kings, it would be wise to let Maxwell go to some other team.

#8: Sanju Samson – RR

This one name could be a banger as the Internet is currently flooded with news surrounding Sanju Samson’s big release ahead of the IPL 2026 player Auction. Of course, all these news articles are speculative, and nothing is official as yet. However, Sanju is reportedly unhappy with his current franchise, and that means, if not released, Sanju Samson could well be traded to another franchise. Whatever the case, get ready for this banger, if at all this is true.

#9: Liam Livingstone – RCB

If there is one team that may make the fewest changes to their existing squad since they are the IPL champions, it is the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, even after such a blockbuster year, Maxwell’s clown, Lim Livingstone, doesn’t deserve a place in RCB’s side. Not that Liam is a bad batter, but his lack of interest in performing in the IPL is the reason why he should be released. Given his heavy price tag, it would be good if RCB look for a quality finisher all-rounder in the Auction.

#10: Mohammed Shami – SRH

Injuries are a part and parcel of a player. But sometimes Injuries are so brutal that there is no coming back. Mohammed Shami, unfortunately, is the victim of such an injury. Shami was such a lethal all-format bowler before the injury. But since his return from the injury, Shami has looked below par. He seems to have lost all his zip, and his revamped action has taken all the pace away from him. Given his high price, it would be prudent of SRH to release him, and look for a young bowler in the Auction.

So, that’s about the star players expected to be released before the IPL 2026 player Auction. Which players do you think the teams will release for sure? Please share your thoughts on ipladdafounder@gmail.com.