KKR Retained and Released players list for IPL 2026: Full Kolkata Knight Riders squad ahead of the auction

The three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) Champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), revealed the list of players they have retained and released from the squad on Saturday, November 15.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made it to the headlines during the trade window, but were unable to sign any mega deals with the other Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.

As per reports, they tried their very best to rope in the services of KL Rahul after Abhishek Nayar was appointed as the head coach. However, the Delhi Capitals (DC) were in no mood to leave the star wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul and bluntly rejected KKR's request.

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One franchise to whom they didn't say 'No' was the Mumbai Indians (MI), as the Knight Riders traded the young leg-spinner Mayank Markande to the five-match champions.

Apart from that, they parted ways with some very big names. They released their trusted all-rounder Andre Russell, which came as a huge surprise, along with their most expensive player Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought for INR 23.75 crore.

KKR also decided to offload Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Moeen Ali, Luvnith Sisodia, and Chetan Sakariya.

List of players retained by Kolkata Knight Riders:

Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik

List of players released by Kolkata Knight Riders:

Luvnith Sisodia, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Spencer Johnson, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya

List of players Traded IN and OUT by KKR:

Mayank Markande (Traded to MI)

Ex-India batting coach not surprised by Andre Russell's KKR exit

In a video shared by ESPNCricinfo on their X handle, former India National Cricket Team batting coach Sanjay Bangar was asked if he was surprised by Andre Russell being released.

Replying to this, Sanjay Bangar said that he was not at all surprised and saw the long-term relationship between KKR and Andre Russell ending. He added that the all-rounder wasn't utilised properly by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last season.

"Not really (when asked if he was surprised by Andre Russell being released). Because the signs were there that KKR probably not utilising the services of Russell the batter because at most times he batted lower down the order and also his usage as a bowler because he hardly bowled his entire quota of four overs in many of the matches that he played in the last season. So, there were signs that maybe Russell will have to, you know, ply his trade for some other franchise," Sanjay Bangar said.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders have a massive purse of INR 64.3 crore after retaining and releasing the players, which is the highest among all the teams. They also have 13 slots open in the squad, including six for overseas players.

Also Read: Shocking! Andre Russell released by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2026 auction