IPL 2026 Retention: The mini auction of IPL 2026 is going to be held on 16th December. All 10 teams have released their players. Here we will tell you about those 5 players who have been the most expensive players to be released this season.
IPL 2026 Released Players: All 10 teams have released their retention lists for the 19th season of the Indian Premier League. Ahead of the 15th November Cricket Lineup, all the franchises have retired and released players. From defending champion Royals Challengers Bangalore to Kolkata Knight Riders, their respective big players have been shown the door. Till now, the players who were trusted with closed eyes have also been released. So let us tell you about five players who have become the most expensive players to be released this season.
Liam Livingston (RCB)
IPL 2025 champion team Royals Challengers Bangalore has made the biggest release in the form of England all-rounder Liam Livingston. The team had signed this player by paying Rs 8 crore 75 lakh in the mega auction, but his entire season was nothing special. He appeared to be a flop with both ball and bat. However, in the final he played an important inning of 25 runs in 16 balls. Before that, only 112 runs had come from his bat in 10 innings. In such a situation, the franchise no longer expressed confidence in him for the next season and showed him the way out.
Ravi Bishnoi (LSG)
Indian spin bowler Ravi Bishnoi, who is coming to play for Lucknow Super Giants from IPL 2022, has also been dropped. The franchise has not shown confidence in this bowler for IPL 2026. This player was retained in the mega auction by paying an amount of Rs 11 crore, but his performance in terms of money was quite disappointing. Last season, he played 14 matches and took only 10 wickets, due to which he has now been released. He is the fourth most expensive player to be released this season.
Andre Russell (KKR)
Andre Russell, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders since the 2014 season, is now no longer with this team. This is the biggest shock for KKR fans. Last season, in the mega auction, Rasm was retained by the franchise by paying an amount of Rs 12 crore, but his performance was nothing special. He scored only 167 runs in 10 innings and took eight wickets in 9 innings. Apart from this, injury has also been a big problem for the team. In such a situation, the franchise has clearly refused to support him.
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Mathisa Pathirana (CSK)
Sri Lankan player Mathisa Pathirana, who became famous as Baby Malinga in Chennai Super Kings, will now be seen playing with the new team. CSK had retained this player in the mega auction by paying Rs 13 crore. This death bowling specialist bowler did not do anything amazing last season, taking only 13 wickets in 12 innings. Due to suffering from injury, his bowling action changed due to which his impact was not seen much. By the way, Chennai has also refused to take this bowler.
Venkatesh Iyer (KKR)
Venkatesh Iyer, who was the third most expensive player in the mega auction of IPL 2025, has been released by Kolkata Knight Riders. Last season, this batsman was retained by paying an amount of Rs 23 crore 75 lakh. But his season was not special with the bat and he could score only 142 runs in 11 innings. Last season, KKR surprised all the fans by purchasing this player. In such a situation, he has become the most expensive player to be released before the mini auction of IPL 2026.
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