 "Kolkata Knight Riders will be hoping for a stronger performance next summer after finishing at the eighth spot in the IPL 2025 table. AP")
Kolkata Knight Riders’ list of retained and released players IPL 2026: After winning their third title under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership last year, Kolkata Knight Riders had entered the 18th season hoping to become only the third team in the Indian Premier League to win back-to-back titles after the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
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The ‘Purple Brigade’, however, never really got going after starting their campaign with a seven-wicket loss against eventual winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who chased down a target of 175 with nearly four overs to spare.
KKR, who had appointed Ajinkya Rahane as their new captain after releasing Iyer into the auction pool, failed to collect back-to-back wins until it was too late, and eventually finished at the eighth spot with 12 points – a couple of washouts not helping their cause either.
KKR’s list of retained players: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders player trades: Mayank Markande (Rs 30 lakh) traded out to the Mumbai Indians.
Kolkata Knight Riders released players: Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Moeen Ali, and Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande (traded out)
Kolkata Knight Riders remaining slots: 13 (including 6 Overseas slots)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) purse remaining for IPL 2026 auction: Rs 64.3 crore