10 teams will place bids to fill a total of 77 slots in the IPL 2026 auction. Most slots are vacant in Kolkata Knight Riders, they can buy maximum 13 players (6 foreigners). Punjab Kings have the least number of slots. They can buy only 4 players. IPL auction will be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, in which money will be showered on many players. But there are also players who were once the poster boys of their teams and may remain unsold this time.

1. Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar was also in Chennai Super Kings, but he too was not retained by the franchise. 34 year old Vijay Shankar was bought by CSK for Rs 1.20 crore in the last edition.

Vijay Shankar played 6 matches for CSK in the last edition, in which he scored 118 runs. However, CSK did not make him bowl. It seems difficult to sell him in IPL 2026. If we look at his IPL career, he has played 78 matches for 4 teams (CSK, SRH, DC and GT), in which he has scored 1233 runs and taken 9 wickets.

2. Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi was in Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2022 to 2024, his price was Rs 8.50 crore. Although his salary reduced in the last edition, he got a bigger team. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 3.40 crore, but he could not leave much of an impact. As a result, CSK released him before IPL 2026.

Rahul Tripathi played 5 matches for CSK in the last edition of IPL, in which he could score only 55 runs. 34 year old Rahul Tripathi may remain unsold in the auction this time. Talking about his IPL career, he has played a total of 100 matches for 5 teams (RPS, RR, KKR, SRH and CSK) since 2017, in which he has scored 2291 runs.

3. Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma is also finding it difficult to sell in IPL 226 auction. The 37-year-old bowler was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.20 crore in the last edition, however he could not perform as per expectations. He played 8 matches for Delhi last season, but could take only 2 wickets. Now Delhi has released him, but it is difficult to sell him in the auction.

Mohit Sharma started his IPL career in 2013 while playing for CSK. Till now, he has played a total of 120 matches for 4 teams (CSK, PBKS, GT and DC), in which he has taken 134 wickets.

4. Glenn Maxwell

Australia’s explosive batsman Glenn Maxwell was criticized a lot in the last edition. Although he is a big name in the cricket world, his bat has often been silent in the IPL. Last season, there was a big decline in his IPL price, but still he was bought by Punjab Kings, but this time it seems very difficult to sell him.

In 2021, RCB bought Maxwell for Rs 14.25 crore, from 2022 to 2024 he remained in RCB with a price of Rs 11 crore, but before the last edition, RCB released him, then Punjab Kings bought him for Rs 4.20 crore. Although he could not justify even this price, he played 7 matches in 2025 and scored a total of 48 runs. Although Punjab reached the final this season, Maxwell had no contribution in it. The result was that Punjab did not keep Maxwell in the 21 retained players, now it is difficult to sell this big player.

5. Faf Du Plessis

Faf du Plessis is difficult to sell in the IPL 2026 auction, his age is also a factor in this. 41-year-old Faf has been playing IPL since 2012, he started his journey with CSK and in the last edition he was in Delhi Capitals. For Delhi in 2025, he scored a total of 202 runs in 9 matches, out of which there were 2 half-centuries. Although Delhi has released him.

Talking about his IPL career, Faf du Plessis has scored 4773 runs in 154 matches, which includes 39 half-centuries. But it seems difficult for the former South African captain to play in IPL 2026, hardly any team will bet on him.

6. Moeen Ali

England all-rounder Moeen Ali was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price (2 crores) in the last auction, although even then it seemed difficult to sell him. Now KKR has also released him, because his performance last year was not anything special. He played 6 matches in 2025, in which he took 6 wickets and scored only 5 runs in 2 innings. Now it seems difficult to sell him in the IPL 2026 auction. Age will also be a factor, Moeen Ali is 38 years old.

7. Karan Sharma

Mumbai Indians have retained 20 players, but Karn Sharma is not there. Whereas Mumbai had bought him last year for only Rs 50 lakh. Mumbai had reached the playoffs in the last edition, but Karna played only 6 matches. He bowled in 5 matches, in which he was able to take a total of 7 wickets. His economy was 8.53.

Karn Sharma may remain unsold in IPL 2026 auction. His last few seasons have not been good, while his age could also be a factor. 38-year-old Karn Sharma played 9 matches for RCB in 2024, in which he took 7 wickets but the economy was above 10 (10.58). Last season (2023), he gave away runs in 7 matches for RCB at an economy of more than 10 (10.37).

0The auction for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) will be held in Abu Dhabi on 16 December. All the teams have released their retention lists, franchises will bid for players to fill the remaining slots. All the teams have released some such players, who can get huge amount in the upcoming auction. But there are also 5 players whose IPL career can be considered over. It is difficult for any team to bet on him.

1- Faf du Plessis

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis is one of the few players who played in the IPL despite being above 40 years of age. He is now 41 years old, was playing for Delhi Capitals last season. Faf has also captained RCB.

Du Plessis started his IPL career in 2012 playing for Chennai Super Kings. He stayed in CSK till 2021, meanwhile he also played for Rising Pune Super Giants in 2016 and 2017. Now he is in the last phase of his career, he has been released by Delhi Capitals before the IPL 2026 auction. Considering his age, it can be assumed that hardly any team will bid on him.

Talking about Faf’s IPL career, he played a total of 154 matches for 4 teams, in which he scored 4773 runs at a strike rate of 135.78. He has scored 39 half-centuries in IPL.

2- Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been released by Kolkata Knight Riders. He became a part of this team in 2024, Pandey has been playing since the first edition of IPL. He has played for 7 teams so far, but looking at his condition in the last 2 seasons, it seems difficult for any team to bet on him.

Manish Pandey played only 3 matches in IPL 2025, in which he scored 92 runs. In 2024, he played only 1 match. In that he scored 42 runs. Manish has played 174 matches in IPL, in which he has scored 3942 runs. This includes 22 half-centuries and 1 century.

3- Karan Sharma

Mumbai Indians retained 17 players, included 3 through trade. MI released 8 players, in which the name of Karn Sharma is also included. Karna played only 6 matches in the last edition, while his team reached Qualifier-2. Now MI has released him, but he is finding it very difficult to get any other team in the auction.

Karn Sharma is 38 years old, he has been playing IPL since 2009. Karna, who debuted for RCB, has so far played for 4 teams, in which he has taken 83 wickets.

4- Mohit Sharma

Bowler Mohit Sharma’s name will also be in the IPL 2026 auction, but perhaps some team will bid on him. Mohit has been released by Delhi Capitals. Mohit Sharma, who has been playing IPL since 2013, has played a total of 120 matches for 4 teams (CSK, PBKS, GT and DC), in which he has 134 wickets in his name.

In the last edition, Mohit played 8 matches for Delhi, in which he took only 2 wickets but his economy was 10.28. In such a situation, it is difficult for them to get a new team in the IPL 2026 auction.

5- Moeen Ali

England cricketer Moeen Ali was in Kolkata Knight Riders last year, he was bought by KKR for his base price of Rs 2 crore. Although he could not do anything special, he got to play only 6 matches. He scored only 5 runs in 2 innings. He bowled in 5 matches, in which he took 6 wickets.

Moeen has been playing in IPL since 2018, he has played for a total of 3 teams (RCB, CSK and KKR). He played a total of 73 matches in IPL, in which he scored 1167 runs. He has also scored 6 half-centuries.