IPL teams are getting close to finalising their retention lists for 2027. They have until November 17 to submit them. The mini-auction will be held on December 16 in Goa. Talks between teams and players are already under way. Trade discussions are also happening. The biggest name in those talks is Hardik Pandya. The Mumbai Indians captain looks likely to leave. As many as five teams are talking to Mumbai about a deal. Chennai Super Kings are seen as one of the favourites. Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings are also in the race.
A report says some top players want about INR 40 crore to stay with their teams. Several players have already asked for higher wages. They feel going into the auction could be better for them financially. This idea has been shaped by recent deals. Rishabh Pant got INR 27 crore and Shreyas Iyer got INR 26.75 crore at the 2025 auction. Pant left Delhi Capitals and Iyer left Kolkata Knight Riders.
The demand is a problem for teams. The current purse is INR 120 crore. That makes INR 40 crore a very large share. It is especially hard for teams that want to keep more than one star player. Pant’s INR 27 crore was already nearly one-fourth of Lucknow’s purse. So INR 40 crore looks too high for now.
That could change next year. A mega-auction will be held before the 2028 season. Each team’s purse will go up from INR 120 crore to INR 150 crore. After that rise, paying INR 40 crore for one player could become workable. It would be a little more than one-fourth of the total purse.
IPL 2027 Mini Auction: Why Teams Release Valuable Players
In a mini auction, a team can keep as many of its contracted players and release the rest. For the 2026 auction, the retention window closed on 15 November 2025. Teams kept 173 players, including 49 overseas. That left 77 slots, including 31 overseas. The combined purse was ₹237.55 crore. Kolkata Knight Riders had the biggest purse at ₹64.3 crore. The Mumbai Indians had the smallest at ₹2.75 crore.
The auction was on 16 December 2025 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. There were 359 players in the pool. Squads were capped at 25, with a maximum of eight overseas players. The biggest buys were Cameron Green to KKR for ₹25.20 crore, the most expensive overseas signing in league history, and Matheesha Pathirana to KKR for ₹18 crore.
For the 2027 cycle, the BCCI confirmed on 23 September 2026 that there will be a mini auction in Goa in December 2026. The player retention deadline has been extended by the board to November 17, 2026, giving franchises two extra days to finalise their lists of retained and released players. This will serve as the final mini-auction of the current 2023–27 cycle ahead of the mega auction scheduled for 2028.
Between seasons, teams can trade players for cash or player swaps. The player must agree, and the BCCI must approve. That is how Hardik Pandya moved from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians in November 2023. It was a trade, not a release. Released players go into the next auction at their declared base price. Their old team has no claim on them in a mini auction.
Teams release good players for three main reasons. A player kept at ₹18 crore has to be worth more than the two or three players he replaces. With eight overseas slots and only four in the playing eleven, a team with five overseas batters will let one go, however good. A team may expect a player to go unsold or cheap. Or it may hold a right to match in a mega year. So it releases him, planning to buy him back.
FAQs
Q. How much are players demanding to stay with their IPL team?
A. Some top players are reportedly asking for around ₹40 crore.
Q. When is the deadline for IPL 2027 player retentions?
A. Teams must submit their retention lists by November 17, 2026.
Q. When and where will the IPL 2027 mini auction take place?
A. The mini-auction is scheduled for December 16, 2026, in Goa.
Q. Why do some players prefer entering the IPL auction?
A. They believe the auction could help them secure higher salaries.
Q. When will the IPL purse increase from ₹120 crore to ₹150 crore?
A. The increase is planned for the 2028 mega-auction cycle.
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