IPL 2026 Player Retention: Deadline, rules, live streaming and everything else you need to know

The Indian Premier League is trending once again after months of focus on international cricket, from a Test spectacle in England to Indo-Pak drama at the Asia Cup as well as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s grand return in the white-ball tour of Australia.

As is the case with Indian cricket every year, the IPL had dominated headlines during the summer months and remained the biggest talking point for a couple of more weeks after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s historic maiden title on 3 June.

While the discussion back then centered around the performance of players and teams and other topics such as table standings, race to the playoffs and more, the spotlight has now shifted to player retentions and trades.

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The IPL player auction, after all, is around the corner with around month to go for the event that reportedly will be taking place outside India for the third consecutive year. And before the auction, the 10 franchises are required to submit a list of the players they have retained for the next season, the deadline for which is set to expire later this week.

Here’s everything you need to know about the IPL 2026 retention deadline:

When is the deadline for franchises to announce their list of retained players for IPL 2026? 

The deadline for franchises to unveil their list of retained players for the 2026 Indian Premier League has been set for 5 pm IST on 15 November by the IPL Governing Council.

When are the franchises likely to unveil their retention list? 

While franchises have the freedom to unveil their retention list at any given time before the deadline, they usually keep their announcements on hold until the deadline day, and things aren’t likely to be any different this month.

How many players will a franchise be able to retain ahead of the IPL 2026 auction? 

Unlike mega auctions, in which franchises are allowed to retain only a handful of their core players as teams undergo a reset of sorts, mini auctions have no such restrictions.

Which means that franchises can retain as many players from their existing squad, so long as they adhere to the league’s rules and maintain a squad size between 18 to 25 players and a salary cap not exceeding Rs 120 crore.

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Will teams be able to carry out player trades after announcing their list of retained players? 

Yes, franchises can carry out player trades even after the retention deadline. The trading window, after all, begins a month after the conclusion of a season and remains open a week before the auction. The window then reopens after the auction and closes 30 days before the start of the next season.

Players who have been bought at the auction, however, cannot be traded immediately afterwards, as per the rules set by the GC.

Will the IPL player retention be telecast live? If so, where can I tune into the live coverage? 

The Star Sports Network, which is the current rights holder for the Indian Premier League, will be telecasting the IPL Player Retention live on Saturday, 15 November, with live streaming available on the JioHotstar website and mobile application.