The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 retention deadline is approaching, and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are likely to make some important decisions. A few big players could find themselves in the KKR Released Players 2026 list rather than the KKR Retention List. Some players might be released because of their high price, while others didn’t get many chances to perform.
Let’s take a look at some of the Indian players who might be part of the KKR released list ahead of the next season.
Venkatesh Iyer could be one of the big names that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might release before the IPL 2026 auction. After being trusted and bought back for INR 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, he couldn’t perform as expected. In 11 matches, he batted in seven innings and scored only 142 runs at an average of 20.28. His batting position also kept changing, but even then, he couldn’t make a big impact for the team.
Considering his high price tag, he might be in KKR released players 2026 list to free up a large amount of money in their purse. This will allow them to target new players in the upcoming auction and make changes to strengthen their squad for the next season.
Manish Pandey was bought back by KKR for INR 75 lakh after being released before the IPL 2025 auction. He got very few chances last season, playing only three matches and scoring 92 runs. In IPL 2024, he played just one match before being released after the season.
A similar situation could happen again, as the team might decide against keeping him in the KKR retention list before the IPL 2026 auction. Although his price isn’t very high, releasing him could make sense since he has played only four matches across the last two seasons.
Like Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy was also bought back by KKR for INR 40 lakh after being released before the season. In IPL 2025, he played only one match for the team. Anukul has been with KKR since 2022 but has played just 11 matches in four seasons, which is very few for a player mostly used as a backup option.
Given his limited game time, KKR might again think about releasing Anukul Roy ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Keeping him in the KKR Released players 2026 list could make space for a new player slot in the next auction.
ALSO READ:
Mayank Markande was bought by KKR for INR 30 lakh in the IPL 2025 auction after being released by SRH before the season. However, he didn’t get a chance to play any matches for KKR as the team already had Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy leading the spin attack.
With Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy likely to stay with the team next season, it might again be tough for Mayank Markande to get playing time. KKR released players 2026 list will include him and in the IPL 2026 auction, they could go after a more experienced spinner.
Chetan Sakariya was named as Umran Malik’s injury replacement ahead of the IPL 2025 season but got to play only one match throughout the tournament. He was also part of KKR’s squad in IPL 2024 but didn’t feature in any game and was released after the season.
Since making his IPL debut in 2021, Chetan Sakariya has played only 20 matches and hasn’t made a big impact. KKR might release him ahead of IPL 2026.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
