One surprise retention by each team ahead of IPL 2026 Auction ft. T Natarajan 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 franchises announced their retention lists on Saturday, November 15, on the retention deadline day. All ten teams had the provision of retaining and releasing as many players ahead of the 2026 Auction, scheduled for December in Abu Dhabi.

Top-performing sides like IPL 2025 finalists Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have opted to retain the majority of their squad owing to their recent success. Meanwhile, sides like the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and other teams that were firmly in the bottom half have plenty of releases in a bid for a rebuild at the auction.

On that note, let us take a look at one surprise retention by each team ahead of the IPL 2026 Auction.

#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad - Brydon Carse

SRH have parted ways with the majority of their bowlers, including spearhead Mohammad Shami. However, they have made the surprising call to retain England pacer Brydon Carse, even with the team boasting prolific overseas seamers like Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga, and the prospect of more potential names coming in after the auction.

Brydon Carse is yet to play a match in the IPL after being ruled out of injury ahead of the 2025 season. While he has proven to be an improved red-ball bowler for England in Tests, the verdict is still out on his short-format bowling in terms of consistency, despite the potential.

#2 Gujarat Titans - Anuj Rawat

GT retained three wicket-keepers in the form of Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, and Anuj Rawat. With the England international being the first choice, and the Jharkhand young player being a massive prospect in the works, Anuj Rawat seems just an extra presence.

The left-handed batter has not had much success in domestic cricket as well, of late, recording a duck in his most recent appearance for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.

#3 Lucknow Super Giants - Mayank Yadav

LSG had a massive call to make regarding the future of Mayank Yadav, who holds INR 11 crore in the total purse. Despite just featuring in just two matches last season, and increasing frustration surrounding his injuries and workload, the franchise have taken a massive gamble to retain his services for the next season.

Mayank Yadav is yet to play since the IPL 2025 campaign, and the lack of any progress or promise on that front makes the retention decision even more baffling.

#4 Delhi Capitals - T Natarajan

DC went all out for the left-arm pacer during the mega auction, bagging him for INR 10.75 crore, and making him their most expensive Indian acquisition. Primed as their chief death bowler, Natarajan featured only in two matches, bowling three overs in total, and ending wicketless.

He had a decent TNPL campaign in July, but with his price point, DC have taken a huge risk, especially when there was the option of possibly acquiring him for a better price or seeking an alternative.

#5 Kolkata Knight Riders - Manish Pandey

While KKR made some wholesale releases to amass a massive purse, they also made a surprising decision to keep a hold of Manish Pandey amid a clearout. The 36-year-old chipped in with some cameos last season, but he will certainly not be a part of the franchise's long-term plans by any means.

He has not played any major competitive cricket since IPL 2025, and even keeping him on as a back up does not make much sense since that slot could well be used for an emerging talent instead.

#6 Chennai Super Kings - Jamie Overton

The franchise with the most number of releases, CSK parted ways with almost everybody they deemed dispensable, even slightly. However, the retention list surprisingly includes England all-rounder Jamie Overton, who had failed to impress with both bat and ball in IPL 2025.

Overton scored 15 runs in three matches, and picked no wickets while carrying an economy rate of 13.83. While he has done relatively well for England and in the Big Bash League (BBL), he has had trouble replicating the same in the IPL.

#7 Royal Challengers Bengaluru - Rasikh Salam

RCB invested a lot in Rasikh Salam during the mega auction, cashing out INR 6 crore, making him their third most expensive Indian signing at the auction after Jitesh Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But RCB's first choice bowling unit gelled so well, that his services were not needed as hoped.

He ended up playing just two matches in IPL 2025, picked up just one wicket while averaging 70, and having an economy rate of 11.67. To hold a backup player for that price point is a questionable call.

#8 Punjab Kings - Lockie Ferguson

For PBKS, who boast a wide variety of overseas pace all-rounders and pacers, there was no such need to retain an injury-prone Lockie Ferguson. The New Zealand international did not have an impressive IPL campaign before being injured, and it was a major call by the franchise to continue with him for another season.

Post the IPL, he had decent campaigns in the 2025 MLC and the Hundred, but nothing stellar warranting a retention and claiming a precious overseas slot.

#9 Rajasthan Royals - Shimron Hetmyer

Explosive West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer was a surprise retention ahead oft he 2025 mega auction, and the same is the case ahead of the 2026 Auction as well, especially considering the return on investment.

RR shelled out INR 11 crore, a major section of the purse for the finisher. However, it ended up being one of the malfunctioning departments for the team throughout the season as they spilled so many points by failing to close out games. Furthermore, with the franchise acquiring an in-form and able hitter in Donovan Ferreira for the lower middle-order role, Hetmyer's retention comes as a surprise.

#10 Mumbai Indians - Will Jacks

The five-time winners have more or less retained everyone, but one of their decisions comes as a major surprise, and that is England all-rounder Will Jacks. In IPL 2025, it seemed as if the franchise did not have a particular role for the player as he more or less functioned as a floater in a dynamic batting unit.

However, with Jacks largely comfortable in the top three, and MI looking to push Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma for those positions, he does not really fit in. The fact that makes his retention even more surprising is that MI have brought in a specialist middle order hitter in Sherfane Rutherford.

Edited by Gokul Nair