The 19th edition of the IPL is scheduled for next year. Before that, the IPL auction could take place in mid-December (in the second or third week). There are plans to hold it outside India, in the UAE. November 15th is the deadline for all franchises to submit their lists of retained and released players. Here, we’re focusing solely on the Chennai Super Kings team, discussing which four players they might release.
4 players CSK can release before IPL 2026 auction:
Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda was acquired by CSK for ₹1.7 crore in the auction. He previously played for the Lucknow Super Giants, but his performance for CSK in the last edition (2025) was poor. He played 7 matches, scoring 31 runs in 5 innings at an average of 6.20. CSK may release him to look for an impactful batsman who can be a match-finisher for them in the next edition. Last season, he joined CSK, scoring 1496 runs in 125 IPL matches, including 8 half-centuries.
Rahul Tripathi
Rahul, who was bought by CSK for ₹3.40 crore (US$2.4 million) for the previous edition, was played at various positions in the team but failed to perform as expected. He scored just 55 runs in five innings at an average of 11. He was subsequently dropped from the playing eleven and may be released by the franchise. Rahul Tripathi, who has been playing since 2017, has played a total of 100 matches for 5 franchises, in which he has scored 2291 runs at an average of 26.33.
Devon Conway
Chennai Super Kings signed Devon Conway for ₹6.25 crore (US$1.25 billion) last season. He had also been part of the same team for the previous two seasons. Although CSK preferred Rachin Ravindra over him in the opening matches of the previous edition, Conway was included after he failed to live up to expectations. He scored 156 runs in six innings at an average of 26, including two half-centuries. The team may release him to increase their purse for the auction.
Vijay Shankar
Vijay Shankar was bought by Chennai Super Kings for ₹1.2 crore (approximately $1.2 million) in the last IPL season. Shankar scored 118 runs at an average of 39.33 in five innings in 2025. However, he did not bowl for CSK. CSK may consider releasing him. Vijay Shankar has played 78 IPL matches, scoring 1233 runs in 65 innings, and taking nine wickets.
