IPL Auction 2026: What the teams need – Part II

Kolkata Knight Riders

• Purse: INR 64.30 Cr
• Slots: 13 (6 Overseas)
• Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Umran Malik.
• Needs: Wicketkeeper, Middle Order Batter, Pacer.
• Analysis: KKR's primary need is a like-for-like replacement for Andre Russell, with Cameron Green being their prime target. Their auction strategy will heavily depend on their opening combination; if they move on from Rahane and Narine, they will be in the market for openers, potentially a wicketkeeper. The franchise has used eight different keepers since 2022 and will look to solidify that slot. An overseas pacer is also a priority following the releases of Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson, with Matheesha Pathirana a potential target.
• Potential Targets: Cameron Green, Venkatesh Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Quinton de Kock, Jamie Smith, Jonny Bairstow, Kartik Sharma, Matheesha Pathirana, Matt Henry, Tushar Raheja.

Rajasthan Royals

• Purse: INR 16.05 Cr
• Slots: 9 (1 Overseas)
• Squad: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sam Curran, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Nandre Burger, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Charak.
• Needs: Wrist Spinner.
• Analysis: The acquisitions of Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira, and Ravindra Jadeja have strengthened RR. Their most glaring need is a wrist spinner to recreate a potent local spin partnership. With eight domestic spots to fill, they will also seek an Indian wicketkeeper as backup for Dhruv Jurel following Sanju Samson's trade. RR had the worst bowling performance in the middle and death overs last season; adding capable domestic batters is a priority, which could provide flexibility to include an overseas seamer.
• Potential Targets: Ravi Bishnoi, Rahul Chahar, Vignesh Puthur, Yash Raj Punja, Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Tushar Raheja, Salman Nizar.

Lucknow Super Giants

• Purse: INR 22.95 Cr
• Slots: 6 (4 Overseas)
• Squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshin Kulkarni, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed.
• Needs: Middle Order Batter, Allrounder.
• Analysis: LSG boasts strong Indian pace bowling, further bolstered by Mohammed Shami. Three overseas slots are settled, leaving a decision on the fourth. Their primary focus is securing a middle-order batter and an allrounder for their XII. The allrounder role is crucial as none of their bowlers are strong with the bat. With Digvesh Rathi as the only wrist spinner, that is another area for recruitment. One overseas pacer could also be targeted.
• Potential Targets: Jason Holder, Prashant Veer, Salman Nizar, Sunny Sandhu, Vignesh Puthur, Alzarri Joseph, Anrich Nortje, Deepak Hooda, Wiaan Mulder, Abhinav Manohar.

Gujarat Titans

• Purse: INR 12.90 Cr
• Slots: 5 (4 Overseas)
• Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu.
• Analysis: GT have one of the most settled squads, with four of their five available slots being overseas. They may look to add an overseas wicketkeeper (Kusal Mendis is an option) as backup for Jos Buttler. Releasing Sherfane Rutherford makes an overseas middle-order batter a priority, with a reunion with David Miller possible. They also need a backup for Kagiso Rabada following Gerald Coetzee's release.
• Potential Targets: David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Kusal Mendis, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Henry, Anrich Nortje, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne.

Mumbai Indians

• Purse: INR 2.75 Cr
• Slots: 5 (1 Overseas)
• Squad: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwani Kumar, Sherfane Rutherford, AM Ghazanfar, Corbin Bosch, Mayank Markande, Raghu Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Robin Minz, Shardul Thakur.
• Analysis: MI have all bases covered, reflected in their minimal remaining purse. With only five slots left, their priorities are securing a backup wicketkeeper for Ryan Rickelton (due to his recent poor form) and adding one domestic middle-order batter.
• Potential Targets: Jonny Bairstow, Kusal Mendis, Jamie Smith, Tim Seifert.