Know potential releases of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of IPL 2026 auction

The five-time champions of the Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), didn’t go through a great season in 2025, even in the leadership of their successful leader, MS Dhoni, who took over the responsibility after their first-choice leader, Ruturaj Gaikwad, was ruled out of the season from the third week. For the very first time in history, CSK finished at the bottom of the points table. 

There is speculation on whether Dhoni would make himself available for the new season, having featured in the last IPL edition as an uncapped player for a price of INR 4 crore. However, the reports have claimed that the franchise is going to release several players ahead of the next mini auction, which is expected to be held in the second and third week of December.

See Also: Know details of number of retentions and dates for mega auction of Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025

Among the players reportedly on the release list are Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi, Sam Curran, and Devon Conway. The franchise already has a purse of INR 9.75 crore following the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin from the league. 

Chennai Super Kings to release Sam Curran and Devon Conway ahead of IPL 2026 auction

The left-arm pace bowling all-rounder of England, Sam Curran, who got back to his old franchise for a price of INR 2.40 crore, smashed 114 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 135.71 with one fifty while picking up just one wicket at an economy rate of over 11. That’s the same case with Conway, who collected only 156 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 131.09 in the previous season.

None of the Indian batters were successful in the middle order for the Super Kings, and that never helped them to gain success against the spinner, which at the end put pressure on their lower order to deliver on every single occasion.

The IPL 2026 auction is expected to be held between December 13 and 15, as the teams are asked to provide their list of retentions by November 15. The last two editions’ auction was held outside India in Dubai (2023) and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2024). There is, however, no news on where the upcoming auction will take place.