IPL 2026 All 10 Teams Best Predicted Retained Bowlers List before Auction

Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chennai Super Kings, Cricalytics, Cricket, Cricket News, CSK, Delhi Capitals, Digvesh Rathi, Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Indian Premier League, Indian Premier League 2026, IPL, IPL 2026, Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, Khaleel Ahmed, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Yadav, LSG, Lucknow Super Giants, MI, Mohammed Siraj, Mumbai Indians, Noor Ahmad, Pat Cummins, PBKS, Prasidh Krishna, Punjab Kings, Rachin Ravindra, Rajasthan Royals, Rashid Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Ravindra Jadeja, RCB, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RR, SRH, Sunrisers Hyderabad, T20 Cricket, Varun Chakravarthy, Yash Dayal November 8, 202526 seconds

From Jasprit Bumrah to Varun Chakravarthy, deep-dive into the best predicted retained bowlers list for all 10 teams for IPL 2026.

If there is one format where bowlers are treated as a bowling machine, it has to be the T20 format, with the Indian Premier League – the world’s best T20 format, right at the centre stage. Since the inception of T20 cricket in the early 2000s, the game has evolved drastically. From when 150-160 total was a match-winning total, come to 2025, even 200 totals are not safe. Such has been the evolution of the game, and especially the emergence of flat pitches.

This is why the role of bowlers becomes extremely crucial these days in T20 cricket. Gone are those days when an ER of 6 was considered the gold standard, which in today’s era has switched to 7-8 ERs. Anything less than 8 ER is considered the gold standard these days. So, how are teams stacked up when it comes to their bowling unit ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction, and which bowlers are the teams likely to retain?

It will be an interesting selection point for the team, as they will be given the freedom to choose as many bowlers as they need. The Mini Auction allows for this flexibility, and all 10 teams will want to utilise this opportunity as much as possible to retain a solid core of bowlers. So, with the official announcement just a week away, in this article, we take a look at the best predicted bowlers list for all 10 teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

IPL 2026 All 10 Teams Best Predicted Retained Bowlers List

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Ravindra Jadeja
Shivam Dube
Anshul Kamboj
Khaleel Ahmed

Ramkrishna Ghosh
Matheesha Pathirana (o)
Nathan Ellis (o)
Noor Ahmad (o)
Rachin Ravindra (o)
Sam Curran (o)

The Chennai Super Kings team should retain a total of 10 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 5 Overseas bowlers. The CSK team will see Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, and Nathan Ellis among the primary retention bowlers. Additionally, CSK will see Anshul Kamboj and Ramkrishna Ghosh as the emerging bowlers in the side. Whereas among All-rounders, CSK will see Shivam Dube and Rachin Ravindra.

Delhi Capitals (DC) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Axar Patel
Vipraj Nigam
Kuldeep Yadav
Mukesh Kumar
T Natarajan
Mitchell Starc (o)

The team should retain just 6 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes only 1 Overseas bowler. Delhi Capitals might be looking to overhaul their bowling attack, and add new exciting names to the squad. However, from a retention point of view, their first-choice bowling attack looks good with Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar leading the pace duties, and Axar Patel, Vipraj Nigam, and Kuldeep Yadav leading the spin duties. Since they have good 6 names, they might need good and decent backups in the Auction.

Gujarat Titans (GT) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Arshad Khan
Mahipal Lomror
Manav Suthar
Nishant Sindhu
Rahul Tewatia
Washington Sundar
Kulwant Kejroliya
Mohammed Siraj
Prasidh Krishna
R Sai Kishore
Kagiso Rabada (o)
Gerald Coetzee (o)
Rashid Khan (o)

The Gujarat Titans team should retain a total of 13 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 3 Overseas bowlers. The Gujarat Titans team has plenty of bowlers, so they might not look for more options in the Auction. Among solid retentions, the Gujarat Titans have Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Washington Sundar, and Kagiso Rabada. Among key backups, GT have Gerald Coetzee, Arshad Khan, Kulwant Kejroya, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Nishant Sindhu, and Manav Suthar.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Anukul Roy
Harshit Rana
Mayank Markande
Umran Malik
Vaibhav Arora
Varun Chakravarthy
Andre Russell (o)
Sunil Narine (o)

The Kolkata Knight Riders team should retain a total of 8 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 2 Overseas bowlers. KKR is one team that is devoid of experience in the pace department, with injury-prone Andre Russell being the only good option. Aside from him, the spin department looks good in the form of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. Rest, KKR shall retain emerging bowlers like Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Anukul Roy, and Mayank Markande.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Arshin Kulkarni
Shahbaz Ahmed
Akash Deep
Akash Singh
Avesh Khan
Digvesh Rathi
Prince Yadav
Ravi Bishnoi
Shardul Thakur
Mitchell Marsh (o)
Will O’Rourke (o)

The Lucknow Super Giants team should retain a total of 11 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes only 2 Overseas bowlers. LSG will once again depend on their Indian bowlers, and aside from Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan, who could be released, LSG will depend on Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav, and Akash Deep. Among spinners, Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi shall lead the spin department. Whereas among key backups, LSG shall retain Will O’Rourke, Akash Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Arshin Kulkarni. LSG also have Mitchell Marsh as a key All-rounder, but he might refrain from bowling for yet another year.

Mumbai Indians (MI) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Arjun Tendulkar
Hardik Pandya
Naman Dhir
Raj Bawa
Ashwani Kumar
Deepak Chahar
Jasprit Bumrah
Karn Sharma
Vignesh Puthur
Corbin Bosch (o)
Mitchell Santner (o)
Will Jacks (o)
Allah Ghazanfar (o)
Trent Boult (o)

The Mumbai Indians team should retain a total of 14 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 5 Overseas bowlers. MI are almost a complete team when it comes to their bowling department; however, they may still look for a couple more overseas pacers in the Auction. Among current bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Karn Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, and Mitchell Santner shall lead the bowling department. Whereas among backups, MI shall depend on Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Arjun Tendulkar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, and Vignesh Puthur.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Harpreet Brar
Musheer Khan
Suryansh Shedge
Arshdeep Singh
Kuldeep Sen
Pravin Dubey
Vyshak Vijaykumar
Yash Thakur
Yuzvendra Chahal
Azmatullah Omarzai (o)
Marco Jansen (o)
Marcus Stoinis (o)
Lockie Ferguson (o)

The Punjab Kings team should retain a total of 13 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 4 Overseas bowlers. Punjab Kings have a good set of bowlers in both the Overseas and Indian contingents. Among Indian bowlers, PBKS shall retain good ones like Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, and Harpreet Brar. Whereas among Overseas options, PBKS have Lockie Ferguson, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, and Azmatullah Omarzai. Overall, among backups, PBKS shall retain Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Kuldeep Sen, and Pravin Dubey.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Akash Madhwal
Riyan Parag
Sandeep Sharma
Tushar Deshpande
Yudhvir Charak
Wanindu Hasaranga (o)
Jofra Archer (o)
Kwena Maphaka (o)
Nandre Burger (o)

The Rajasthan Royals team should retain a total of 9 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 4 Overseas bowlers. Barring the Sanju Samson controversy in terms of retention, RR shall depend on Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, and Akash Madhwal in terms of primary bowling. Whereas among backups, RR shall retain Riyan Parag, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, and Yudhvir Charak. It’s a decent bunch of bowlers, but RR may need more experience in the Indian bowling unit.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Krunal Pandya
Manoj Bhandage
Rasikh Dar
Suyash Sharma
Yash Dayal
Swapnil Singh
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Jacob Bethell (o)
Romario Shephard (o)
Josh Hazlewood (o)
Lungi Ngidi (o)
Nuwan Thushara (o)

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru team should retain a total of 12 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 5 Overseas bowlers. The RCB team should go full-strength when it comes to retaining their bowlers, and that means the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Suyash Sharma, and Lungi Ngidi shall play a key role in the bowling department. Whereas among key backups, RCB shall depend on the likes of Rasikh Dar, Romario Shephard, Swapnil Singh, and Manoj Bhandage.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Predicted Retained Bowlers for IPL 2026

Abhishek Sharma
Harsh Dubey
Nitish Reddy
Harshal Patel
Jaydev Unadkat
Simarjeet Singh
Zeeshan Ansari
Kamindu Mendis (o)
Ehsan Malinga (o)
Pat Cummins (o)

The Sunrisers Hyderabad team should retain a total of 10 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes 3 Overseas bowlers. The team will see Captain Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, and Ehsan Malinga among the top frontline bowlers. While SRH have decent frontline bowlers, the team has emerging bowlers like Zeeshan Ansari, Simarjeet Singh, and Harsh Dubey. Aside from these six, the team has part-time bowlers like Abhishek Sharma, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Reddy, etc. With these retentions, the team is likely to let go of Mohammed Shami and Rahul Chahar.

So, that’s about the best predicted retained bowlers list for all 10 teams for IPL 2026. Thanks for reading! Looking at all 10 teams best predicted retained bowlers list for IPL 2026, what’s your take on it? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com, or in the comments section below.