The IPL 2026 release and trade lists were finalised on Saturday, November 15, but a few names left fans wondering: what was the thought process behind this one now?
Matheesha Pathirana (Released by CSK)
Sri Lankan international Pathirana hasn’t played competitive cricket since the 2025 Asia Cup, with injuries consistently hampering his progress since he announced himself to the world at IPL 2023. He was instrumental for CSK in a championship-winning season, especially at the death, picking up 19 wickets in 12 games at 19.52, and conceded runs at just 8 per over.
But a hamstring injury cut short his IPL 2024, and while he managed to stay fit during the 2025 edition, his returns of 13 wickets in 12 matches at an economy of over 10 were sub-par. There has been consistent scrutiny of his fitness, and the tinkering with his bowling action has not helped, but at just 22 years of age, Pathirana has time to turn things around.
Having been retained for INR 13 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, few thought he would be released just a year later. But as CSK look to rebuild after a forgettable season, he was let go at the last minute.
Donovan Ferreira (Traded from DC to RR)
Delhi Capitals released (or traded out) three of the six overseas players they acquired at the auction last year: Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser McGurk and Donovan Ferreira. While the opening duo were expected to be let go after a highly underwhelming last term, trading the South African to the Rajasthan Royals came as a surprise.
The underperforming openers cost Delhi last term, with the middle order of KL Rahul, Abhishek Porel, Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs left to do the heavy lifting. Stubbs’ entry point was often delayed, preventing him from having a telling impact.
A seasoned T20 campaigner and costing just INR 75 lakh, Ferreira could potentially have performed that role much better. His 2336 T20 runs have come at a strike-rate of 167.57, and most of them from No.6. But he was given just the one game, where he scored just the one run, and was then traded to Rajasthan, who seemingly need a strong finisher as cover for Shimron Hetmyer, and someone who can roll the arm over as well.
Sherfane Rutherford (Traded from GT to MI)
Sherfane Rutherford’s trade to the Mumbai Indians came as a surprise to many, especially after an impactful season. He was GT’s fourth-highest run-getter in the 2025 season, behind their top three behemoths and scored his 291 runs at a strike-rate of 157.29, even rescuing them from a precarious situation or two.
He seemed a solid answer to the question that was often asked of GT last term: what if the top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have a rare off day?
But Rutherford’s run of shocking form in the lead-up to the retentions (three ducks in four T20I innings) might have played a role, and so did Washington Sundar’s very recent resurgence in the format. All in all, this seems like a big win for the Mumbai Indians, and leaves Gujarat needing an impactful finisher.
Andre Russell (Released by KKR)
Talks of loyalty often seem overrated in the fast-paced world of franchise cricket, or for that matter, any sport. But maybe it counts when a player has given all of his prime to you, and more, and is among the greatest to play the format.
Russell didn’t have his best IPL in 2025, and there were doubts about whether he deserved to be retained at all ahead of the mega auctions last year. But the Knight Riders marked him as their top retention, and lost INR 18cr from their auction purse, even though he actually cost them INR 12cr.
After all, the West Indian was part of two of their three title-winning runs (2014 & 2024) and won two tournament MVP awards (2015 & 2019). He is also one of the only two players to have scored over 2000 runs and taken over 100 wickets in IPL history, along with Ravindra Jadeja.
But his sub-par bowling returns last season (eight wickets in 13 matches, and an economy of 11.94) and the fact that his retention would have kept them short of INR 18cr, may have played a part in his release. With a purse of INR 64.30cr, there is every chance that KKR would go for him during the auction.
Josh Inglis (Released by PBKS)
Ahead of Punjab Kings’ whirlwind 2025 season, captain Shreyas Iyer had stressed that he wanted to bat at three and was “quite clear about that position”. But as Glenn Maxwell’s form didn’t pick up, and Inglis showed a semblance of it while batting at four and six, he was promoted to one-down.
The result was a brutal takedown of Jasprit Bumrah, including a 20-run over in Qualifier 2, among other influential knocks. In all, Inglis finished the season, his first in the IPL, with 278 runs in 11 games at a strike-rate of over 160.
That he cost just INR 2.6 crore meant he was widely expected to be among the retentions for the Punjab-based franchise. But as it turned out, he was released, with coach Ricky Ponting explaining that the wicketkeeper-batter was expected to miss the majority of the 2026 season due to personal reasons.
Nitish Rana (Traded from RR to DC)
Now Rajasthan Royals were involved in the most high-profile trade deal ahead of the IPL 2026 auction: trading out captain Sanju Samson for the CSK all-round duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. It was for this reason that they weren’t expected to part ways with one of their top-order batters.
Nitish Rana largely batted at No.3 for RR last season, and had his best IPL season in terms of strike-rate - 217 runs at 161.94. Only the mind-boggling Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Riyan Parag, scored more runs at a better rate for Rajasthan.
But as it turned out, the RR think-tank traded him to the Delhi Capitals, who already have multiple players vying for the No.3 to No.5 spots, for Donovan Ferreira, who at best would serve as a cover for Hetmyer in the finishing department.
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