India, Nov. 17 -- The IPL 2026 auction won't just be about who spends the most; it will be about who reads the player list the smartest. In that list will be some of the released players from IPL 2025, who could be useful for the franchises during the upcoming season.

Some of them were cut to free purse, some to fix balance, some because timing and fit went wrong. But when you overlay role scarcity, age profile, and how teams are evolving tactically, a small group of released players suddenly look like candidates to earn more than they did in IPL 2025.

Chennai Super Kings did let Rachin Ravindra go. They matched an INR 4 cr bid to keep him last year. Ravindra scored 191 runs in eight innings in 2025, while Devon Conway, also released, m...