The IPL 2026 auction day is officially December 16. Every one of the ten teams participating in the Indian Premier League will have nearly completed their auction plans depending on their player retention and transfers. While most have kept their IPL 2025 squad more or less intact, some franchises went for major changes.
That being said, it might pave the way for a number of players to return to their old sides. Let’s see three players that could very well be named again by their former teams during the IPL 2026 auction.
Venkatesh Iyer
The all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh has turned out to be a remarkable discovery for the Knights management, and they are probably going to take him back in the KKR squad for IPL 2026. Iyer had to be released by the Kolkata Knight Riders last year because of their six essential retentions. Nevertheless, the franchise paid a staggering sum of INR 23.75 crore to get him back for the 2025 season.
At the last mega auction, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the reigning champions at the time, had a bidding war with the Knights, and it was really hot, to get the batter. They might go hard on the 30-year-old again in the IPL 2026 auction. However, with the biggest purse of INR 64.30 crore, KKR will most likely be able to afford the player and continue his association with the Purple and Gold team.
David Miller
The South African batsman had an unimpressive first season with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he managed to score just 153 runs in 11 matches. However, in the past, Miller has scored a total of 950 runs in 41 matches over three IPL seasons with the Gujarat Titans, at an impressive strike rate of 145.25. After the Sherfane Rutherford trade to the Mumbai Indians (MI), the IPL 2022 champions will need a power hitter in their batting order.
This means that the likelihood of the South African player going back to his old team in the IPL 2026 auction is quite high.
Miller’s performance had taken a hit during IPL 2025, but he gradually regained it. He scored 133 runs in seven matches for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, at a very high strike rate of 187.32.
Matheesha Pathirana
The young bowler from Sri Lanka is a standout player for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Pathirana has taken 47 wickets in 32 matches for CSK and has also bowled very economically at 8.68. Besides, the young pacer had released in their IPL 2025’s poor performance only to be the second-highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets in 12 matches.
The franchise may have placed the INR 13 crore acquisition on the released players list for CSK 2026, but once again they will be able to get him for a lesser amount. Some of the teams with the maximum number of players in their squad, who have also retained, will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a lower budget. This might be beneficial for the Chennai side, which has the second-highest purse of INR 43.30 crore, to bring back Pathirana into the squad.
