Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to rejuvenate their squad after finishing eighth in the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League.
After releasing the 2024 edition's title-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, and spending over 23 crore on Venkatesh Iyer, the Knight Riders failed to build a championship-winning squad and lacked quality in multiple departments.
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Ahead of the mini-auction for IPL 2026, they have generated funds while releasing most of their core. In this article, we take a look at the list of players retained and released by the two-time IPL winners for the upcoming season.
KKR released players ahead of IPL 2026 mini-auction
KKR's first priority before heading to the auction table was to generate funds to build a good squad once again.
Which KKR players were released for the IPL 2026 auction?
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Andre Russell
- Moeen Ali
- Anrich Nortje
- Quintin de Kock
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Spencer Johnson.
KKR retained players ahead of IPL 2026 mini-auction
KKR will go for a complete overhaul of their squad in the mini auction as they have released most of their overseas recruits including Andre Russell.
MORE: IPL 2026: How does a player trade work?
Which KKR players may be retained for IPL 2026?
- Ajinkya Rahane (c)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Rinku Singh
- Anukul Roy
- Ramandeep Singh
- Sunil Narine
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Harshit Rana
- Vaibhav Arora
- Shivam Shukla
KKR trades and rumours ahead of IPL 2026 mini-auction
1. Mayank Markande to MI:
The leg-spinner will return to MI for his third stint, after he was traded away in an all-cash 30L INR deal.
He was bought in the mega-auction and did not play any game for the Knight Riders.
2. KL Rahul to KKR:
Despite showing interest in KL Rahul and Sanju Samson during the trade window, KKR has not been heavily linked to roping in or trading out any players.
There have also been rumours and suggestions from cricket pundits like Harsha Bhogle and Aaron Finch, who suggest releasing Andre Russell. However, it looks improbable as the West Indies all-rounder is an integral member of the Knight Riders family in other T20 leagues including the CPL.
KKR current squad
The defending champions bought their current skipper, Rahane, among others, in last season's auction. They were left with only 0.05 cr. In the purse after building the squad.
- Ajinkya Rahane (c)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Rinku Singh
- Manish Pandey
- Rovman Powell
- Luvnith Sisodia (wk)
- Anukul Roy
- Ramandeep Singh
- Sunil Narine
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Harshit Rana
- Vaibhav Arora
- Shivam Shukla
- Chetan Sakaria
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