IPL 2027 Retentions: Key Calls for All 10 Teams

On 17 November every IPL team hands in two lists: who stays and who goes back into the pool. Nothing below is team news; it is our read of the call each side has to make, based on what their players actually did in 2026 and the trades already done. We will replace it with the real lists the day they come out.

❤️ Royal Challengers Bengaluru (1st in 2026)

Back-to-back champions. Seventeen years of near misses ended in 2025, and in 2026 they did it again, chasing 156 in the Final against Gujarat with Virat Kohli making 75 off 42. Kohli (675 runs), Rajat Patidar (501 at 192.7) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28 wickets, second only to Rabada) carried them.

Do they keep the whole title-winning core, or free money for a second overseas quick?
Bhuvneshwar is 36. Does a 28-wicket season buy him another year at full value?
Can they find a finisher, since Patidar did most of the late hitting?

🔷 Gujarat Titans (2nd in 2026)

The most complete side on paper. Shubman Gill (732) and Sai Sudharsan (722) were second and third on the run charts, Jos Buttler added 526, and Kagiso Rabada took the Purple Cap with 29 wickets. Rashid Khan had 21. They lost twice to the same team in the playoffs and still look like the side to beat.

How much of the top three do they lock in when all three scored 500 plus?
Rabada and Rashid both played 17 games. Is there cover for either?
Where does the middle-order power come from once Buttler is past 36?

🧡 Sunrisers Hyderabad (3rd in 2026)

The busiest team of the trade window. Out went Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards; in came T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis, three seamers for a side whose top wicket-taker in 2026 was Eshan Malinga with 20. The batting already works: Klaasen 624, Ishan Kishan 602, Abhishek Sharma 563 at 204.7.

With three new seamers, do they release some of the 2026 bowling group?
Livingstone at ₹13 crore is gone. How much of that saving reaches the auction purse?
Do they keep all three top-order hitters or bank on two?

💗 Rajasthan Royals (4th in 2026)

The season belonged to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.3 and 72 sixes, the Orange Cap at 15, and 97 off 29 in the Eliminator. Dhruv Jurel made 515 and Jofra Archer took 25 wickets. Rajasthan got in on the last day of the league and went one game deeper than most expected.

Sooryavanshi is a lock. How do they build the rest of the top order around him?
Archer played 16 games. Is there a second overseas strike bowler?
Who closes out innings after a season of top-heavy scoring?

🦁 Punjab Kings (5th in 2026)

Finalists in 2025, one point short in 2026. Prabhsimran Singh (510), Shreyas Iyer (498) and Cooper Connolly (481) gave them a settled top order, but no bowler passed 14 wickets. Arshdeep Singh led with 14 and Yuzvendra Chahal had 12. The bowling is the job for December.

Do they back Connolly, 481 runs in his first big IPL season, as a long-term overseas spot?
Which seamer partners Arshdeep after a season with nobody past 14?
Is Chahal still the first-choice spinner at his price?

💙 Delhi Capitals (6th in 2026)

Rishabh Pant is home. Delhi traded Kuldeep Yadav to Lucknow to bring back the player who made 111 appearances for them, at a revised ₹15 crore, then swapped Natarajan for leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari. KL Rahul was the batting in 2026 with 593 runs; nobody else passed 280.

Pant and Rahul both keep wicket. Who takes the gloves?
Losing Kuldeep leaves Axar Patel (11 wickets) as the lead spinner. Is Ansari ready?
Do they spend big on a second batter after a season when only Rahul passed 300?

💜 Kolkata Knight Riders (7th in 2026)

Kolkata spent the 2026 auction record on Cameron Green, ₹25.20 crore, and finished seventh. Angkrish Raghuvanshi top-scored with 422, Finn Allen hit at 214.1, and Kartik Tyagi (18) out-bowled Sunil Narine (15) and Varun Chakravarthy (11). Matheesha Pathirana, bought for ₹18 crore, was injured during the season.

Green made a strong fantasy return (769 points). Is he worth keeping at that price?
Narine is 38. Is 2027 the year Kolkata plan past him?
Do they keep Pathirana after an injury-hit first season?

💛 Chennai Super Kings (8th in 2026)

Five titles and a rebuild in progress. Sanju Samson led their batting in his first CSK season with 477, Anshul Kamboj took 20 wickets, and now Liam Livingstone (₹6 crore, down from 13) and Jack Edwards arrive from Hyderabad. Khaleel Ahmed and Nathan Ellis went the other way.

Does Livingstone at ₹6 crore become the finisher the middle order lacked?
Who leads the seam attack now Khaleel is gone? Kamboj, Overton or a December buy?
How much does the squad turn over for a team that finished eighth?

💙 Mumbai Indians (joint bottom in 2026)

Their worst season in years. Four wins, joint bottom of the table, and a top run-scorer, Ryan Rickelton, on 448. Tilak Varma made 359. With Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma still on the books, Mumbai have the stars. What they need is the depth around them.

Do they keep the whole senior core after a four-win season?
Is Rickelton (186.7 strike rate) now the first-choice opener?
Which spin and seam buys help Bumrah, after Allah Ghazanfar led with 14?

🩵 Lucknow Super Giants (joint bottom in 2026)

Lucknow bought Rishabh Pant for a record ₹27 crore in 2025 and traded him away after two seasons. Kuldeep Yadav (72 wickets in 65 games for Delhi) comes in at ₹13.50 crore. Mitchell Marsh made 563 and Prince Yadav took 16, but four wins left them joint bottom with Mumbai on eight points.