IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters from All Teams Before Mini Auction

Explore the best retained batters list from all 10 teams ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. From Kohli to Jaiswal, see who’s staying and how it shapes each franchise’s strategy.  

We are just a few months away from one of the most anticipated events of the year – the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Unlike the Mega Auction held in 2025, which saw massive squad overhauls across franchises, the Mini Auction is more about strategic tweaks and targeted buys. Hence, the upcoming IPL 2026 Mini Auction will witness only a few exciting names that will generate maximum curiosity from a bidding perspective.

In the Indian Premier League ecosystem, auctions are an annual ritual – alternating between Mega Auctions (every three years) and Mini Auctions (in between). The 2025 Mega Auction, held in Jeddah, was historic, with 577 players going under the hammer and Rishabh Pant emerging as the most expensive buy at ₹27 crore. Now, in 2026, teams will focus on retaining their core squads, especially their top-performing batters.

For newcomers, here’s the difference:

• Mega Auction: Teams could retain up to 6 players.
• Mini Auction: Teams can retain up to 25 players, including a maximum of 8 overseas players.

Indian Premier League 2026 Best Retained Batters List for All 10 Teams

This retention flexibility means most franchises will lock in their top 7 batsmen, forming the backbone of their ideal playing 11. Batters are often the most sought-after assets – they set the tone, anchor innings, and drive momentum. In fact, the top 3 highest-paid players in IPL 2025 were all batters: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Venkatesh Iyer. So, which batters are likely to be retained ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction? In this article, we break down the probable batting retentions for each team, spotlighting the players who are almost guaranteed to feature in IPL 2026.

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

1. Andre Siddharth
2. Ayush Mhatre
3. Dewald Brevis (o)
4. Ruturaj Gaikwad
5. Shaik Rasheed
6. MS Dhoni
7. Vansh Bedi
8. Urvil Patel
9. Rachin Ravindra (o)
10. Ravindra Jadeja
11. Sam Curran (o)
12. Shivam Dube

Starting with our crowd’s favourite, Chennai Super Kings, the team is filled with quality batters – young as well as experienced. Among young and exciting talent, the team is likely to retain the likes of Ayush Mhatre, Andre Siddharth, Dewald Brevis, Shaik Rasheed, Vash Bedi, Urvil Patel, and Rachin Ravindra. Whereas among experienced batters, the team is likely to retain the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja. Overall, CSK will retain an explosive batting lineup, and they will come back hard at all teams in IPL 2026.

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Delhi Capitals (DC)

1. Ashutosh Sharma
2. Jake Fraser-McGurk (o)
3. Sameer Rizvi
4. Abhishek Porel
5. Donovan Ferreira (wk)
6. KL Rahul (wk)
7. Tristan Stubbs (o&wk)
8. Axar Patel
9. Vipraj Nigam

Delhi Capitals have a mix of Overseas and Indian batsmen that they shall retain ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Among the star Overseas batters, we are looking at Jake Fraser-McGurk, Donovan Ferreira, and Tristan Stubbs. While Stubbs is a proven candidate, DC might continue to invest in Fraser-McGurk and Donoan Ferreira. However, the team may release Faf du Plessis, whose age doesn’t seem to match his performance. Among Indian batters, the team will retain the regular core players, KL Rahul, Ashutosh Sharma, Abhishek Porel, Axar Patel, Vipraj Nigam, and Sameer Rizvi. 

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Gujarat Titans (GT)

1. Sai Sudharsan
2. Shahrukh Khan
3. Sherfane Rutherford (o)
4. Shubman Gill (c)
5. Anuj Rawat
6. Jos Buttler (o)
7. Mahipal Lomror
8. Rahul Tewatia
9. Washington Sundar

Talking about the Gujarat Titans, the team will retain almost all their core batters. The team saw some really good performances from the likes of Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Sherfane Rutherford, Jos Buttler, Sharukh Khan, and these are the batters that GT may retain without a second thought. Aside from these five batters, GT should retain the likes of Rahul Tewatia and Washington Sundar, and let go of the likes of Dasun Shanaka, Karim Janat, and Glenn Phillips. In addition, GT may continue to invest in the likes of Mahipal Lomror and Anuj Rawat. 

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

1. Ajinkya Rahane
2. Ramandeep Singh
3. Rinku Singh
4. Angkrish Raghuvanshi
5. Quinton de Kock (o)
6. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (o)
7. Andre Russell (o)
8. Sunil Narine (o)

The Kolkata Knight Riders have a brilliant set of batters that they shall retain ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Among the Indian batters, the team shall retain the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Ramandeep Singh. All four are solid batters, and if KKR are smart, they should release Venkatesh Iyer, and buy someone like Cameron Green or Ben Duckett in the Auction. Aside from these Indian batters, expect KKR to retain Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz among Overseas batters.  

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)

1. Abdul Samad
2. Aiden Markram (o)
3. Ayush Badoni
4. David Miller (o)
5. Himmat Singh
6. Arshin Kulkarni
7. Nicholas Pooran (o)
8. Rishabh Pant 
9. Mitchell Marsh (o)

Coming to Lucknow Super Giants, the team should retain a solid bunch of 9 batters ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. The LSG team was known for their batting, and they had 3 Overseas batters scoring more than 500 runs in IPL 2025 – the only instance in IPL history. Given how solid LSG’s batting lineup is, they should continue to invest in their core batters, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, etc.  

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Mumbai Indians (MI)

1. Bevon Jacobs (o)
2. Rohit Sharma
3. Suryakumar Yadav
4. Tilak Varma
5. Robin Minz
6. Ryan Rickelton (o)
7. Hardik Pandya (c)
8. Naman Dhir
9. Raj Bawa
10. Will Jacks (o)

Coming to the Mumbai Indians, the team has a solid bunch of Indian and Overseas batsman that they are likely to retain ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Among Indian stars, the team is likely to retain Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Naman Dhir. Whereas among Overseas stars, the team is likely to retain the likes of Bevon Jacobs, Ryan Rickelton, and Will Jacks. Given the presence of solid batters in the MI team, they are likely to focus on getting quality bowlers in the side.

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Punjab Kings (PBKS)

1. Nehal Wadhera
2. Priyansh Arya
3. Pyla Avinash
4. Shashank Singh
5. Shreyas Iyer (c)
6. Josh Inglis (o)
7. Mitchell Owen (o)
8. Prabsimran Singh
9. Marcus Stoinis (o)
10. Musheer Khan
11. Suryansh Shedge

Coming to the Punjab Kings, the team is known for their uncapped players; they are likely to retain as many as 7 uncapped batters in this side. So, be it Priyansh Arya and Prabsimran Singh at the top, Nehal Wadhera and Shashak in the middle-order, or Musheer Khan or Suryansh Shedge among the finishers, these uncapped batters will be in focus for the PBKS team. Aside from uncapped batters, PBKS should retain the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, and Josh Inglis.

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Rajasthan Royals (RR)

1. Nitish Rana
2. Shimron Hetmyer (o)
3. Shubham Dubey
4. Vaibhav Suryavanshi
5. Yashasvi Jaiswal
6. Dhruv Jurel
7. Sanju Samson (c)
8. Riyan Parag

Moving on to the Rajasthan Royals team, they should retain a total of 8 batters ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Needless to say, the team is batting-centric, and they have as many as 8 quality batters in the side for IPL 2026. Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana, and Dhruv Jurel are the quality Indian batters that the team shall retain. Whereas among emerging stars, they should continue to invest in Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Shubham Dubey. However, among Overseas batters, the team is likely to retain only Shimron Hetmyer.

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

1. Devdutt Padikkal
2. Mayank Agarwal
3. Rajat Patidar (c)
4. Swastik Chikara
5. Tim David (o)
6. Virat Kohli
7. Jitesh Sharma
8. Phil Salt (o)
9. Jacob Bethell (o)
10. Krunal Pandya
11. Romario Shephard (o)

Coming to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team, they already have a solid bunch of Indian and Overseas batters that they are likely to retain before IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma, and Krunal Pandya are the Indian batters that RCB shall retain for IPL 2026. Whereas among overseas batters, the team is likely to retain the likes of Phil Salt, Romario Shepherd, and Jacob Bethell. However, they should let go of Liam Livingstone, who doesn’t seem worthy of retention currently. 

IPL 2026 Best Retained Batters List for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

1. Abhinav Manohar
2. Aniket Verma
3. Atharva Taide
4. Travis Head (o)
5. Heinrich Klaasen (o)
6. Ishan Kishan
7. Abhishek Sharma
8. Kamindu Mendis (o)
9. Nitish Reddy

Finally, talking about Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team has a solid mix of batters that are likely to be retained for IPL 2026. Known for their aggressive style of play, the team will continue to retain the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, and Nitish Reddy. Aside from these aggressive experienced batters, the team will continue to invest in Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, and Atharva Taide. 

 IPL 2026 Retained Batters – FAQs 

🏏 How many batters can a team retain for IPL 2026?

There’s no specific restriction on the number of batters a team can retain for IPL 2026. Since it’s a Mini Auction, franchises can retain up to 25 players, including a maximum of 8 overseas players. Most teams will retain their top 7 batters who form the core of their playing 11.

🩹 Can injured batters and their replacements be retained?

Yes, both the injured batter and the mid-season replacement can be retained for IPL 2026.
For example:

• Devdutt Padikkal (injured)
• Mayank Agarwal (replacement)

Both Devdutt Padikkal and Mayank Agarwal are eligible for retention. However, temporary playoff replacements like Jonny Bairstow or Kusal Mendis are not eligible for retention.

🌟 Which star batters are available for retention ahead of IPL 2026 Mini Auction?

Several marquee batters are expected to be retained:

• Virat Kohli (RCB)
• MS Dhoni (CSK)
• Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)
• Rohit Sharma (MI)
• Rishabh Pant (LSG)
• Shubman Gill (GT)
• Sanju Samson (RR), and more

💰 Who is the most expensive batter likely to be retained for IPL 2026?

• Rishabh Pant – ₹27 crore (LSG)
• Shreyas Iyer – ₹26.75 crore (PBKS)
• Heinrich Klaasen – ₹23 crore (SRH)

These retention prices reflect their impact and franchise value heading into IPL 2026.

Conclusion – IPL 2026 Retained Batters List

Concluding the analysis, the countdown for the IPL 2026 Mini Auction is already ticking, and retention strategies are already shaping the tournament’s narrative. With no cap on the number of batters that are likely to be retained, franchises have the flexibility to secure their core performers while navigating injury replacements and overseas quotas. From Rishabh Pant’s record-breaking retention to the tactical decisions around emerging stars, every move will influence team dynamics and fan expectations. Stay tuned as we track the final retention lists, auction surprises, and how these decisions impact the race for the IPL 2026 title.

So, that’s about best retained batters list for all 10 Teams ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Mini Auction. Which batters do you think the teams will retain for sure? Please share your thoughts on ipladdafounder@gmail.com.

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