CSK IPL 2026 Released and Retained players: Sanju Samson has been unveiled by Chennai at Rs 18 crore. (Sportzpics)IPL 2026 CSK Retained and Released Players List: MS Dhoni will return for another season with Chennai Super Kings while they released Matheesha Pathirana from their squad as reported by The Indian Express earlier in the day. Earlier in the day, CSK made a record-breaking trade deal by snapping up Rajasthan Royals superstar Sanju Samson for Rs 18 crore, the franchise’s biggest-ever trade deal. It remains to be seen if Ruturaj Gaikwad will return as the captain after missing a large chunk of last season during which Dhoni led them, now that Sanju Samson is also part of the mix.
More notably, CSK had to let go of their legendary all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the franchise proposed the time for transition as a key reason behind the move. CSK have also confirmed to trade Sam Curran as part of the deal with Rajasthan Royals as their plans for a time after Dhoni are finally in motion. They also released their big-money New Zealand assets in Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.
Chennai Super Kings Managing Director, KS Viswanathan, said: “A transition in a team’s journey is never easy. Trading out a player like Ravindra Jadeja, who has been an integral part of the franchise for more than a decade, and Sam Curran was one of the toughest decisions we have taken in the team’s history. The decision was taken with mutual understanding with both Jadeja and Curran. We are deeply grateful for Jadeja’s extraordinary contributions and the legacy he leaves behind. We wish both Jadeja and Curran the best for the future. We also welcome Sanju Samson, whose skill-set and achievements complement our ambitions. This decision has been made with great thought, respect, and a long-term vision,” he added.
Last year, ahead of the fresh mega auction cycle, CSK retained five players with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja costing them Rs 18 crore each. They had retained Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 13 crore which is now available for them in the auction purse and Shivam Dube for a Rs 12 crore price tag. Taking advantage of the modified introduced uncapped player retention rule, Dhoni was retained by the franchise for Rs 4 crore.
When there is a mega auction, there is a limit to the number of players, be it overseas or the Indians, that the squads can retain. But this time around, as it is not a mega auction, teams can retain as many players as they wish to. Despite the flexible rules, the franchises need to have 25 players at most, and the purse for each franchise will be around 120 crores.
CSK purse remaining: Rs 43.4 crore
Sanju Samson (Rs 18 crore)
CSK Player Trades ahead of IPL 2026 Auction
Sanju Samson (Rs 18 crore)
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Sanju Samson (Traded in), Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Chouhdary, R Ashwin (retired)
Ravindra Jadeja (traded to Rajasthan Royals), Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana, Sam Curran (traded to Rajasthan Royals), Andre Siddarth, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Shaikh Rasheed and Vijay Shankar.
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