Kolkata Knight Riders

Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released by KKR last Saturday, as per a directive given by the BCCI

Mustafizur Rahman was brought by KKR during the IPL 2026 auction for a mammoth ₹9.20 crore price tag

KKR had secured Rahman's services for a hefty Rs 9.20 crore, significantly higher than his base price of Rs 2 crore, after a fierce bidding battle involving Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.

With this, Green crossed the record held by Mitchell Starc, another Australian cricketer, at Rs 24.75 crore

The auction saw an intense battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings for Green, with KKR eventually emerging as the highest bidder.

The accelerated rounds featured further big purchases, including Pathum Nissanka, Jason Holder, Mustafizur Rahman, Liam Livingstone and Josh Inglis.

KKR will walk into the IPL 2026 players auction with the biggest purse, while five-time champions MI will have the smallest purse

PL 2026 mini auction: Cameron Green tops the list at Rs 25.20 cr. Check top 20 costliest buys, including Pathirana, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, with teams and prices.

Under the IPL's maximum-fee rule, an overseas player's auction fee is capped at the lower of the highest retention slab and the highest price fetched at the previous mega auction.

The IPL 2026 Auction is scheduled to begin on December 16 (Tuesday), 2025. The IPL mini auction 2026 will begin at 2:30 PM IST.

On December 16, IPL 2026 auction is scheduled to start at 2:30 PM IST in Abu Dhabi. All the ten IPL franchisees are set to spent around Rs 237.55 crore to fill up 77 available slots.

Russell has been a key figure for KKR since 2014, helping the franchise secure three IPL titles.

CSK have released 11 players, the most among the 10 franchises, as they attempt to reset after finishing bottom of the table for the first time in their IPL history

IPL 2026's retention list is defined by three themes: the blockbuster Jadeja-Samson-Curran swap, the release of several global stars, and franchises making sharp value

Russell, who joined KKR in 2014, had been one of the franchise's longest-serving and most influential overseas players

Markande, who made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in 2018, enjoyed a breakout season with a memorable three-wicket haul in his very first match.

Watson is an IPL veteran, featuring in 12 seasons since the inaugural 2008 edition. He played a pivotal role in Rajasthan Royals' remarkable triumph that year, earning the MVP award in 2013.

Since this is not a mega auction, franchises have the freedom to retain or release as many players as they wish.

IPL 2026 retention rules allow franchises to retain an unlimited number of players, with no cap on the number of capped Indian players, overseas players, or uncapped players they can keep

Nayar, 42, has been closely associated with the Knight Riders setup since 2018, serving as a key member of the support staff.