The franchises are expected to submit their retention picks for the IPL 2026 on or before November 15.
The retention deadline for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is approaching. We look at some of the uncapped players who might not be retained for the upcoming season due to their high price tags. The list includes two uncapped players from the reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and one each from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
The franchises are expected to submit their retention picks on or before November 15.
The RCB management had roped in the former Delhi Capitals (DC) player, Rasikh Salam Dar, for INR 6 crore. But the most expensive uncapped player of the edition could not produce an impressive performance in his limited opportunities of two matches.
The 25-year-old conceded runs at an expensive economy rate of 11.66 and managed a solitary scalp of the veteran Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder, Sunil Narine. Previously, he had a similar outing with DC, snaring nine wickets in eight appearances, at an economy of 10.97. His future with the champions in the IPL 2026 looks bleak.
The ex-Gujarat Titans (GT) seamer, Yash Dayal, has had two decent seasons with RCB since the IPL 2024. He has bagged 28 wickets in 29 matches for the franchise, while maintaining an economy rate under 10.
Notably, the 27-year-old also delivered a match-winning final over in the team’s reverse fixture against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He defended 15 runs in the final over of CSK’s 200-plus chase to hand RCB a maiden double win over Chennai. However, the team might be unlikely to retain the bowler for IPL 2026 with a price tag of INR 5 crore.
Following a long five-year stint with SRH, the Lucknow management had acquired Abdul Samad for INR 4.2 crore. But despite registering his career-best strike rate of 176.34 in the IPL so far, the finisher managed to put up only 164 runs in 13 fixtures.
As the franchise is expected to make quite a few changes in their squad after back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the last two seasons, they might opt to release the big-hitter before the IPL 2026 auction.
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The former Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer, Sandeep Sharma, has continued to produce impressive economic spells in his three-year stint with RR. But he has not proved to be a crucial wicket-taking option for the franchise, registering only 32 dismissals in 33 matches.
Notably, the veteran pacer also features in an elite list of players to scalp 100-plus wickets in the T20 tournament. However, the Royals management might not retain the INR 4 crore recruit ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
Another former GT player, Abhinav Manohar, makes it to the list due to his abysmal stats from the last season. The Orange Army included the batter in their setup for INR 3.2 crore. But the 31-year-old endured a lean patch of form. He managed only 61 runs in his eight appearances, at a below-par strike rate of just 100.
As the team would look to build up a strong squad following their previous season’s debacle, which saw the 2024 runners-up finish in sixth place, Manohar is unlikely to feature in the team’s retention chart ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
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