IPL retention preview : Jadeja - Samson trade headlines retention day as franchises look to pump up their squads.

It's that time of the year again. The IPL 2026, although three months away has been the talk of the town for various reasons and the main reason has been the trade between Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja as it has drawn a fair amount of criticism from the CSK fans. 

Jadeja, who has been their pillar of strength ever since CSK picked him up in 2012 has asked for captaincy to the Rajasthan Royals camp as they too are trading Sanju Samson, one of their most consistent players over the years. CSK, who will welcome Ruturaj Gaikwad back will have a terrific middle order should Samson arrive with Samson, Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni forming a good trio.

RR on the other hand, will benefit the most by Jaddu’s arrival. An already robust top order, backed by a stronger middle order with Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Hetmyer and Riyan Parag will pose a stiff challenge to the opposition.

The Gujarat titans, meanwhile have traded Sherfane Rutherford and Shardul Thakur to the Mumbai Indians and this comes up as a pleasant surprise. There are rumours of Rashid Khan getting traded as well, and with a vulnerable Gujarat side already trading so many key players, its going to be a tough road for them ahead. 

KKR, on the other hand, who have appointed Shane Watson as their assistant head coach and Tim Southee as their bowling coach are in constant talks to trade KL Rahul from the Delhi capitals. KKR, who were absolutely shoddy in their 2025 campaign will have a steal if the Rahul deal falls through. They spent a whopping amount on Venkatesh Iyer in 2025 and the result- they finished 8th and needless to say, a course correction is required.

The Delhi capitals too are expected to release Faf Du Plessis and Jake Fraser McGurk as they need a large purse to enter the auction. DC started the tournament with a bang but fizzled out in the later parts due to inconsistent performances. With KL Rahul rumoured for a KKR trade and their openers being in the auction, the Capitals will rely on their captain Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma to do the bulk of the scoring.

The runners up of the tournament, the Punjab Kings will most probably release Glenn Maxwell as he stuck out like a sore thumb in their campaign. Lockie Ferguson too might not be retained as Stoinis, Jansen and Omarzai are the foreign contingent to be retained. Josh Inglis too will be retained following his performance in 2025.

Sunrisers Hyderabad too have sprung up a surprise by not retaining Heinrich Klassen. The dashing keeper batsman who was purchased at 23 crores last year was blow hot blow cold and if SRH fail to purchase him again, the loss would be theirs. Ishan Kishan too is on the release list as he failed to provide the returns needed and SRH would like to fix their middle order too ahead of the tournament next year.

Mumbai Indians are the only team which has their team sorted. Apart from a riveting Indian core, they have purchased Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford who are solid back ups, and like every year, they are in need of a leg spinner to boost their line up. The 5 time champs came close last season but Shreyas Iyer had other plans. They will look to make it no 6 this year and are favourites to do so. 

The Lucknow Super Giants are precariously placed too. Mohammad Shami has been drafted into the side, but they need more bowlers as their bowlers were in the NCA more than the field. Rishabh Pant’s form too will be a crucial factor as LSG rely heavily on their top 3 for runs. David Miller has also been released and to back up Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi, they need quality or rather fit fast bowlers.

And last but not the least, the defending champs. RCB will look to release Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell and that could be a blessing in disguise as they will look to buy someone like Cameron Green, and if they are to defend their title, Green is definitely the answer. 

The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is set to take place on December 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, marking the third consecutive year the league's player auction is being held overseas. The IPL first ventured abroad in 2024 with the Dubai auction, followed by a two-day mega auction in Jeddah for the 2025 season held in November 2024.