15th November 2025 was an action-packed day as all ten IPL franchises announced their list of retentions before the IPL 2026 mini-auctions. There were a lot of shocking releases and a historic trade deal, while some retentions were surprising too. Now, all eyes are on the mini-auction, scheduled for December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
Yes, the trade window is still open, which means that teams can still make deals. You might wonder why that is the case, especially when all sides have given up their retention and release list already. This is to give all teams an extra opportunity to evaluate their team combinations and mini-auction plans, which could potentially get better if they can get another deal or two in.
According to the IPL trading rules, the trading window is open till a week before the mini-auction day. So, that means that the ten IPL franchises can make trade deals till December 9. After this the window will close but it will reopen again after the mini-auction is done. After the auction, the trading window will reopen once more and then end a month before the start of the season.
While the trading window has reopened, it is only applicable for those players who have been retained by their respective franchises. The players who have been released, will have to mandatorily enter the mini-auction. The retained players can still be part of a fresh trade deal, provided they and their franchise give the consent for it.
Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson were the high profile trade deals before the retention day. While Jadeja went from CSK to RR at Rs 14 crore, Sanju Samson moved to CSK at Rs 18 crore with Sam Curran also joining the Jaipur franchise as part of this complicated deal. Initially, it was supposed to be a straight swap as Jadeja's price at CSK was Rs 18 crore but he and CSK agreed for a pay cut.
