The IPL franchises are scrambling to finalize their finest possible teams for the next season since the IPL has imposed a timeline of November 15 for keeping the retention list. There are some names which do not need to be mentioned who, due to their poor showings in IPL 2025, are likely to be dropped and thus, create a buzz around the IPL 2026 mini-auction which is said to be held in mid-December.
But, just like every year, the auction can still see a few surprises and the internet would be packed with shockwaves. In the meantime, this post will highlight some of the players that might get released surprising everyone during the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
1. Matheesha Pathirana
One of the most surprising names could be that of CSK’s Matheesha Pathirana released for the IPL 2026. The right-arm seamer had a disappointing season as the Sri Lankan star only managed to take 13 wickets in 12 games which is even less than his last year’s total.
Moreover, injury is a big issue for Matheesha Pathirana as he was absent from a few IPL matches due to it. He was also not considered by Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup and was on the bench owing to a poor performance in just one game.
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2. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant, who was made the highest-paid player ever in the IPL, did not meet the expectations and could not contribute with the bat. Pant, who had the burden of high hope, was the LSG’s worst batter with just 269 runs in 13 innings that included a hundred which was nothing but a mere formality as it came in the last match of the group stages.
Apart from his batting, Pant had a hard time as a leader too, as the Lucknow Super Giants could not make it to the playoffs. Hence, the management of LSG needs to rethink their plan for the next season, and it would be a big surprise if they let Pant go.
For Pant, things went terribly wrong with the willow and he netted almost fifty percent of the runs he had in IPL 2024 with the Delhi Capitals. Moreover, his strike-rate took a big hit too.
3. Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan’s season with the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 was a nightmare and he appeared to be out of form with his bowling. In general, Rashid has not been impressive in his performance in the shortest format of the game, which is also witnessed with Afghanistan.
Speaking of IPL 2025, the Afghan captain could manage to take just nine wickets in 15 innings while his economy rate was an astonishing 9.35.
