The Hundred 2026 Retentions: Which Players Did RCB, Mumbai Indians Sister Franchises and Others Retain?
The Hundred is moving away from the player draft and will introduce a player auction from the 2026 season. This change comes after private investors bought stakes in all eight teams, with many of the new owners already linked to the Indian Premier League.
Out of the eight teams, four have been taken over by owners of IPL franchises. Northern Superchargers are now owned by the Sun Group, who also own Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team has been renamed as Sunrisers Leeds.
Oval Invincibles have been renamed as MI London, as they are now owned by Reliance Industries, the same group that owns the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Manchester Originals have become Manchester Super Giants after being taken over by the RPSG Group (Sanjiv Goenka), who also own the Lucknow Super Giants.
The GMR Group, who own the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, have bought stakes in Southern Brave, but they have not changed the team’s name.
Retention Rules for The Hundred 2026
With the new ownership in place, teams will now shift their focus to squad building. Each team can keep or pre-sign up to four players before The Hundred 2026 auction.
They can retain four players from last season and pre-sign a maximum of three. Every team must keep at least one player. The retention deadline is on January 16.
Teams must follow these rules:
- Can pre-sign a maximum of two England centrally contracted players
- Can pre-sign a maximum of two overseas players
- They must retain at least one player — this can be an England-contracted, overseas, or domestic player
Once the teams complete their retentions and pre-signings, they will fill the remaining slots in the IPL-style auction.
Harry Brook and Phil Salt Secure Big-Money Deals in The Hundred
According to ESPNcricinfo, Harry Brook is set to earn GBP 470,000 for playing in The Hundred next year, as the tournament’s new investors rush to complete their direct signings and retentions before the March auction. Brook has led the Northern Superchargers for the last two seasons and has now agreed to stay with the team in their new identity as Sunrisers Leeds. His GBP 470,000 deal could make him the highest-paid player in the competition.
Phil Salt is also getting a major contract, worth around GBP 450,000, after Welsh Fire won the battle to sign him ahead of London Spirit and Manchester Super Giants. Salt had been with Manchester Originals (now Manchester Super Giants) since the start and captained them in the last two seasons.
Manchester Super Giants have retained Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad and pre-signed a seasoned campaign in Liam Dawson. Southern Brave and Welsh Fire have retained one player each – Jofra Archer and Phil Salt, respectively.
Here’s a look at the other retentions and pre-signings for all teams.
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Team Wise Retentions and Pre-Signings for The Hundred 2026
Birmingham Phoenix
- Retentions: Jacob Bethell
- Pre-signing: Rehan Ahmed (Trent Rockets), Donovan Ferreira (MI London), Mitch Owen
London Spirit
- Retentions: Jamie Overton
- Pre-signings: Liam Livingstone (Birmingham Phoenix), Adam Zampa (MI London), Dewald Brevis
MI London
- Retentions: Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rashid Khan
- Pre-signings: Nicholas Pooran
Manchester Super Giants
- Retentions: Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad,
- Pre-signings: Liam Dawson (London Spirit)
Southern Brave
- Retention: Jofra Archer
- Pre-signings: Jamie Smith (London Spirit), Marcus Stoinis (Trent Rockets), Tristan Stubbs
Sunrisers Leeds
- Retention: Harry Brook, Brydon Carse
- Pre-signings: Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Ellis
Trent Rockets
- Retention: Tom Banton
- Pre-signing: Ben Duckett (Birmingham Phoenix), Tim David, Mitchell Santner (Sunrisers Leeds)
Welsh Fire
- Retention: Chris Woakes
- Pre-signing: Phil Salt (Manchester Super Giants), Rachin Ravindra (Manchester Super Giants), Marco Jansen
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