Delhi Capitals Team (Source: BCCI/IPL)

The retention deadline for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 was November 15. While some teams opted to retain most of their star players, others decided to release many of their big names to rebuild after disappointing campaigns in IPL 2025.

The IPL 2026 mini-auction is scheduled to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16. It will be interesting to see how teams fare in the much-awaited auction, which takes place abroad for the third consecutive year.

Let's take a look at the three IPL teams that failed miserably in 2026 player retention: 3. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Delhi Capitals had a strong start to the season in IPL 2025, winning each of their first four matches. However, their form tapered off towards the back end, and they finished at No. 5, with seven wins and six defeats under their belt. DC released their experienced top-order batter, Faf du Plessis, ahead of the auction. They also decided to leave fellow opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who underperformed last season but has immense potential.

DC's pace attack comprises Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, T Natarajan, and Mukesh Kumar. There seems to be a lack of balance, as Starc is a cut above the rest, and there is not a suitable replacement or backup for him. T Natarajan has been retained for INR 10.75 crore despite playing just one match in IPL 2025 due to injury.

2. Kolkata Knight Riders KKR. (Photo source: IPL)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are heading into the mini-auction with the highest purse among all 10 participating teams.

They will entering the auction with a whopping INR 64.3 crore. The three-time champions have retained only 12 players and will look to build a side for the next two seasons.

However, there might not be too many proven players to choose from, as most of them have been retained by other franchises. Also, some experts have questioned the release of Andre Russell.

The Caribbean all-rounder served KKR from 2014 to 2025. He was only signed for INR 12 crore, and experts believe that it is not too much for a match-winner of his calibre.

1. Chennai Super Kings Chennai-Super-Kings. (Photo source: X/IPL)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) did well to rope in Sanju Samson, but they had to let go of Ravindra Jadeja, who had won them several games over the years. Jadeja's bowling is also suited for the conditions in CSK's homeground, Chepauk. He also played the finisher's role to perfection in recent years, giving support to MS Dhoni.

The five-time champions also released two of their opening batters - Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. This was a surprising move, as retaining at least one of them could have come in handy. Meanwhile, releasing Matheesha Pathirana also did not make much sense. While the Sri Lankan seamer did not have a great campaign in 2025, he is just 22 years old, and he could have bounced back strongly in IPL 2026.

CSK are known for showing faith in their players, but that was not the case with the right-arm speedster, who is a match-winner in the death overs.