Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the three-time IPL champions, announced the list of retained and released players on Saturday, November 15. They were in the news during the trade window, but they simply could not pull off any major trades with other IPL teams.
KKR apparently made a genuine attempt to secure KL Rahul once they announced Abhishek Nayar as their head coach but DC weren’t in the mood of releasing their first-choice wicketkeeper batter and rejected the offer straightaway. Mumbai Indians (MI) were the only one who was willing to trade with them as they exchanged young leg-spinner Mayank Markande to the five-time champions.
Other than this, KKR released quite a few big guns. They let go off their key all-rounder Andre Russell to the surprise of many, while they also released their costliest buy Venkatesh Iyer for INR 23.75 crores. They had also released Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, Luvnith Sisodia and Chetan Sakariya. KKR had a tough season as well finishing 7th on the points table with 5 wins, 7 losses, 2 no-results, an NRR of -0.305 and a total of 12 points.
KKR IPL 2026 Retained Players
| Player Name | Nationality |
|---|---|
| Ajinkya Rahane | Indian |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | Indian |
| Anukul Roy | Indian |
| Harshit Rana | Indian |
| Manish Pandey | Indian |
| Ramandeep Singh | Indian |
| Rinku Singh | Indian |
| Rovman Powell | West Indian |
| Sunil Narine | West Indian |
| Umran Malik | Indian |
| Vaibhav Arora | Indian |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | Indian |
KKR IPL 2026 Released Players
| Player Name | Nationality | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Andre Russell | West Indian | Rs 12 crore |
| Venkatesh Iyer | Indian | Rs 23.75 crore |
| Quinton de Kock | South African | Rs 3.6 crore |
| Moeen Ali | English | Rs 2 crore |
| Anrich Nortje | South African | Rs 6.5 crore |
KKR IPL 2026 Traded Players
| Player Name | Move | Trade From/To |
|---|---|---|
| Mayank Markande | OUT | KKR to MI |
KKR IPL 2026 Auction Purse
Kolkata Knight Riders remaining purse: ₹64.3 Cr (approx.)
Top 5 Target Players for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026 Mini-Auction
- Josh Inglis – Wicketkeeper-Opener; released by Punjab Kings, top candidate for KKR’s opening spot.
- Devon Conway – Opener; former CSK star, IPL strike rate 139.71, strengthens top order.
- Faf du Plessis – Opener; experienced international batter, adds stability at the top.
- Cameron Green – Overseas All-Rounder; Australia star, bat and ball balance, potential Andre Russell replacement.
- Venkatesh Iyer – Indian Middle-Order; consistent performer, likely to return to KKR at a cheaper price than last IPL.
Code: TOPBK
