The IPL 2026 mini-auction is just a few months away and there’s been a lot of chatter about potential player trades and names like Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Ravichandran Ashwin. With the IPL 2026 season starting next summer, teams are already looking at their rosters and figuring out where they can improve.
We’ve seen big trades before like Hardik Pandya going from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians for INR 15 crore. He went back to Mumbai Indians before IPL 2024 after leading Gujarat Titans to their first-ever IPL title in 2022.
Indian batter trades before the IPL 2026 mini auction:
1. Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals to CSK)
Word is that Sanju Samson, who captains Rajasthan Royals (RR), might be traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). CSK is looking for someone to replace MS Dhoni who’s nearing the end of his IPL career. Samson could be a good captain and a solid wicketkeeper-batter for CSK. There’s also talk that CSK might include Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja or even Ravichandran Ashwin in the trade deal. Samson has been with Rajasthan Royals since 2013 (except for 2016 and 2017 when RR was suspended) and has spoken about enjoying his time with the team.
2. KL Rahul (Delhi Capitals to KKR)
This might surprise some but KL Rahul might be traded to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Delhi Capitals picked him up for INR 14 crore and he had a good season with the bat scoring 539 runs in 13 matches, including three fifties and a century. According to The Times of India, KKR wants Rahul to strengthen their batting lineup and possibly be a captaincy option. Plus Rahul gets along well with Abhishek Nayar who’s the assistant coach at KKR.
3. Venkatesh Iyer (KKR to RCB)
KKR got Venkatesh Iyer for INR 23.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction but he didn’t have the best season. He scored 142 runs in 11 matches with a strike rate of 139.21, including one fifty. Reports suggest that Venkatesh might be traded to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for Phil Salt. The English batter had a good season, scoring 403 runs in 13 matches, with four fifties. Interestingly RCB head coach Andy Flower had mentioned earlier that his team wanted to get Venkatesh at the IPL 2025 mega auction and the two teams were bidding against each other for him.
4. Ashutosh Sharma: Trade from DC to PBKS
Ashutosh Sharma was bought by Delhi Capitals for INR 3.8 crore in IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Before that he was with Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. He started well in IPL 2025, scoring a match winning 66* in DC’s first match. After that he didn’t do much and was batting lower down the order. Now DC might trade him before the IPL 2026 auction and PBKS might want to get him back for the 19th edition.
5. Sameer Rizvi: Trade from DC to GT, LSG
Young wicketkeeper Sameer Rizvi was seen as a player with potential after Delhi Capitals bought him for INR 95 Lakh last year. He didn’t get many chances but still scored 121 runs in 5 matches at an average of 40.33 and strike rate of 153.16. DC might trade him before IPL 2026 auction and teams like Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants might be interested in him.
