On Saturday, November 15, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) officially announced the list of players they have retained and released ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. The franchise was very active during the trading window and made some of the biggest changes of the season. Their boldest decision was parting ways with Ravindra Jadeja, one of their biggest legends, along with star all-rounder Sam Curran.

Both Jadeja and Curran were traded to the Rajasthan Royals (RR). In return, CSK brought in former RR captain and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, making it one of the biggest trades ever seen in the IPL. CSK also said goodbye to talented Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana and the New Zealand pair of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra as part of their squad reshuffle.

CSK had a season to forget in IPL 2025, finishing in last place in the points table going 4 for 14 matches. The season concluded for the CSK as 8 points with a -0.647 net run rate made it their 'worst season ever' in IPL history. CSK showed flashbacks of fight this season, but overall were out of form and struggled for consistency to stay competitive.

CSK Retentions, Releases and Trades Ahead of IPL 2026

The new retention list shows that CSK are planning a fresh start while still backing their core players. They kept their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, some youngsters, some key all-rounders, and familiar bowling lineups. But, they did abandon a significant number of experienced players and traded Jadeja and Curran.

CSK’s 2025 season started with a strong win against the Mumbai Indians but quickly turned difficult as they suffered multiple losses against teams like RCB, RR, DC, PBKS and KKR. They picked up wins against LSG and later against KKR again, but consistency remained missing. Their best performance came in the final match where they beat Gujarat Titans by 83 runs, but it was too late to save their campaign.

See Also: Kolkata Knight Riders retained and released players list ahead of IPL 2026 auction

CSK Retained Players for IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings have retained Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain, along with Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjanpreet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal and Mukesh Choudhary for the IPL 2026 season.

CSK Released Players for IPL 2026

The players released by CSK include Rahul Tripathi, Vansh Bedi, C Andre Siddarth, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Shaik Rasheed, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Matheesha Pathirana and R Ashwin.

CSK Trades for IPL 2026

CSK have traded in Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals, while Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran have been traded out to Rajasthan Royals.