IPL 2026: Player Trades, Retentions, Auction and All Updates
The IPL 2026 auction will be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi in a day-long mini auction. This will be the third straight year that the IPL auction will take place overseas. All ten franchises have until November 15 to finalise their retention lists before the auction.
The player trade window is already active, with several players switching teams ahead of the new season.
Major Trades Ahead of IPL 2026
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur and West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford have joined Mumbai Indians (MI) through all-cash deals.
MI secured Thakur from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for ₹2 crore, while Rutherford joined from Gujarat Titans (GT) for ₹2.6 crore, the same price GT had bought him for in last year’s auction.
This is Thakur’s third IPL trade. Previously, he moved from Punjab Kings to Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 and from Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before the 2023 season, both as all-cash deals.
Thakur went unsold at the 2025 mega auction but was later signed by LSG as a replacement for Mohsin Khan. He made an immediate impact, picking 6 wickets in his first 2 matches, before finishing the season with 13 wickets in 10 games at an economy of 11.02.
His move to MI is a homecoming. Thakur was part of MI’s support squad between 2010 and 2012 and is currently the Mumbai domestic team captain. Thakur also hails from Palghar district of Maharashtra which is right outside of Mumbai and connected to Mumbai via the famous local train. He shares good rapport with former MI captain Rohit Sharma, having played domestic cricket together. Watch here.
Rutherford’s Fourth IPL Team
Rutherford will now represent his fourth IPL franchise after previous stints with Delhi Capitals (2019), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2022) and Gujarat Titans (2025).
The left-handed batter played 13 matches for GT last season, scoring 291 runs at an average of 32.22 and a strike rate of 157.29. Rutherford was also part of MI’s squad in 2020 and KKR in 2024, but did not play a game in either season.
Arjun Tendulkar Moves to LSG
In another trade, Arjun Tendulkar has been traded from MI to Lucknow Super Giants. The left-arm pacer joined MI for ₹30 lakh in 2024 but the move is expected to get more playing opportunities in Lucknow.
Tendulkar was first bought by MI in the 2021 auction and made his debut in 2023, featuring in 5 IPL games with 3 wickets at an economy of 9.36. He began his domestic career for Mumbai in 2021 before moving to Goa in the 2022-23 season.
Potential Big Trades Ahead
A blockbuster trade has successfully taken place with Sanju Samson moving to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. Rumours suggest that Jadeja will take over RR’s captaincy while Samson will take over the gloves from the great MS Dhoni following his retirement.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami has moved from SunRisers Hyderabad to Lucknow Super Giants for INR 10 Cr. Mayank Markande has returned to his former franchise, Mumbai Indians, for a INR 30 Lakh fee to KKR.
Nitish Rana will represent Delhi Capitals in the upcoming season after being traded by RR for INR 4 Cr. In return, Donovon Ferreira will move from DC to RR.
Coaching Changes Ahead of IPL 2026
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as assistant coach. He will work alongside head coach Abhishek Nayar and mentor Dwayne Bravo. New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has also joined the KKR coaching staff.
Tentative Season Window Announced
The IPL 2026 season is expected to run from March 15 to May 31, 2026, keeping its traditional two-and-a-half-month window intact.
With major player trades, coaching changes and the Abu Dhabi auction around the corner, all eyes are now on the world’s biggest T20 cricket league.
While that’s all from the Indian Premier League, you can check the Women’s Premier League (WPL) retention list here. The WPL auction will take place on 27th November in Delhi.
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IPL 2026: All Teams’ Player Retention Rumours
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