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IPL Teams That Could Go After Ishan Kishan If SRH Release Him Ahead Of 2026 Auction

Anurag Dasgupta

Teams which could target Ishan Kishan [Source: @iplt20.com]Teams which could target Ishan Kishan [Source: @iplt20.com]

The buzz for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has already begun as several teams are trying to shed their fringe players and plan to overhaul their squads with fresh faces. One of the IPL teams that had a disappointing 2025 campaign was the Sunrisers Hyderabad, as the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.

One of the main reasons for their failure was their disappointing batting performances. After witnessing the highs in 2024, the team failed to replicate the same performance, and one of the key players, who was lacklustre with his batting, was Ishan Kishan. The southpaw was bought with a lot of hope but he failed to deliver the goods.

There is a good chance that the Sunrisers might decide to release him ahead of the next season. There are several reasons for SRH to make this bold call and in this article, we will analyse why the team could release him and which franchises could go after Ishan Kishan.

Why SRH could release Ishan Kishan?

  • Poor form in IPL 2025: The former Mumbai Indians player was bought for INR 11.25 crore, but he failed to justify the price tag as the batter had a string of poor scores after a blistering hundred in SRH's first game of the season. He was backed heavily for 14 straight games but Kishan couldn't deliver what was expected of him.
  • Huge price tag: As discussed before, SRH splashed a huge chunk of their money to go after Ishan Kishan in the IPL mega auction but they were not rewarded back. Hence, the team could release him to get the additional 11.25 crore back in their purse and perhaps go after other options in the mini auction.

Teams which could target Ishan Kishan if he gets released

1) Kolkata Knight Riders

After winning the IPL title in 2024, a lot was expected of the Knight Riders in the 2025 season; however, disaster struck as they made blunders in the mega auction. They released their keeper, Phil Salt and replaced him with Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

The duo had a horrendous season, scoring just 152 and 74 runs, respectively, as KKR struggled for runs at the top. The Knight Riders would like to release both Gurbaz and De Kock and should replace them with Kishan. 

Despite his failure with SRH, Kishan is an aggressive batter and this was something which KKR lacked last season. In 2025, he had a strike rate of 152 and could be the chief aggressor for the Knight Riders at the top.

2) Rajasthan Royals

The buzz has already started that the Rajasthan Royals captain, Sanju Samson, could be traded to the Chennai Super Kings. If that happens, RR will be left with no designated keeper, and they would be eager to replace one aggressive keeper-batter, Samson, with another fiery keeper.

Hence, Kishan is the right choice to replace him. Kishan loves to bat at the opening slot and if Samson leaves and he replaces him, the southpaw will get the chance to bat at the top alongside Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The dynamic left-handed duo could wreak havoc to the opposition bowlers.

3) Delhi Capitals

In the 2025 season, Delhi Capitals tried out several opening combinations - Jake Fraser-McGurk and Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel and KL Rahul, but none of them worked wonders as the team finished fifth and failed to qualify for the playoffs. 

Their specialist opener, JFM, had a horrendous season, scoring just 55 runs as DC often struggled to get quick starts. They are likely to release the Aussie batter and Ishan Kishan could be their preferred choice to replace him. The Arun Jaitley Stadium favours power-hitters and Kishan would love enjoying batting at the top. Plus, DC needs some stability and the left-handed batter could provide them with just that.