CFormer India players R. Ashwin and Vijay Shankar, along with leg-spinner M. Ashwin, have been released by their respective franchises ahead of the TNPL 2026 auction after becoming ineligible to participate in the tournament.

R. Ashwin, who captained Dindigul Dragons, recently signed for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket (MLC), while Chepauk Super Gillies’ Vijay Shankar is set to turn out for the Kandy Royals in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) after retiring from Indian domestic cricket and the IPL. M. Ashwin, who also announced his retirement from domestic and IPL cricket, has been released by Siechem Madurai Panthers.

TNCA secretary U. Bhagwandas Rao clarified that players who have retired from BCCI-affiliated cricket are not eligible for the TNPL. “The franchise owners were already informed that they will not be eligible for the auction. Basically, whoever has retired from BCCI - retired from all things under BCCI - is not eligible,” he said. Super Gillies also released former captain B. Aparajith after the batter informed the franchise that he was not looking to play in the upcoming season.

Among the notable retentions, Trichy Grand Cholas has retained India all-rounder Washington Sundar, while Chepauk Super Gillies has held on to wicketkeeper-batter N. Jagadeesan. Dindigul Dragons retained Varun Chakaravarthy, Sandeep Warrier, and B. Indrajith, while Lyca Kovai Kings kept faith with M. Shahrukh Khan, B. Sai Sudharsan, M. Siddharth, and R.S. Ambrish.

iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans retained captain R. Sai Kishore and India pacer T. Natarajan, while Siechem Madurai Panthers kept pacer Gurjapneet Singh. Nellai Royal Kings, meanwhile, released veteran wicketkeeper-batter K.B. Arun Karthick.

The squads: Trichy Grand Cholas: Retained: J. Suresh Kumar, P. Saravana Kumar, J. Kousik, R. Sanjay Yadav, M.S. Washington Sundar, Jafar Jamal, R. Rajkumar, V. Athisayaraj Davidson, K. Easwaran, W. Antony Dhas, M. Ganesh Moorthi, N. Selva Kumaran, T. Saran.

Released: H.I. Waseem Ahmed, S. Sujay, U. Mukilesh, J. Rejin, S.P. Vinod, Arya Yohan.

Remaining purse: ₹15,06,250.

Chepauk Super Gillies: Retained: Abhishek Tanwar, Swapnil Singh, N. Jagadeesan, R.S. Mokit Hariharan, T.D. Lokesh Raj, M. Silambarasan, K. Aashiq, J. Prem Kumar, S. Dinesh Raj, G. Rajalingam, N. Sunil Krishna.

Released: B. Aparajith, Vijay Shankar, R. Kirubakar, M. Akram Khan, S. Rohith Suthar, R. Aushik Srinivas, B. Sachin, R. Rajan, Arjun P. Moorthy.

Remaining purse: ₹24,03,125

Dindigul Dragons: Retained: Varun Chakaravarthy, Hunny Saini, Sandeep Warrier, B. Indrajith, R. Vimal Khumar, Shivam Singh, R.K. Jayant, H. Dinesh, M. Karthik Saran, Athul Maruthi Vikar, M. Viju Arul, Sasidharan.

Released: R. Ashwin, G. Periyasamy, Maan K. Bafna, D.T. Chandrasekar, N. Aakaash Sharma, V. Bhuvaneshwar.

Remaining purse: ₹20,28,125

iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans: Retained: R. Sai Kishore, T. Natarajan, R. Silambarasan, Tushar Raheja, S. Mohamed Ali, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, U. Sasidev, R.D. Pranav Raghavendra, V.P. Amith Sathvik, S. Mohan Prasath, C.V. Achyuth, M. Mathivanan, A. Esakkimuthu, V. Anovankar.

Released: Daryl S. Ferrario, B. Surya, K. Rajkumar, S. Radhakrishnan, K. Kanibalan, S. Prabanjan.

Remaining purse: ₹7,62,500.

Lyca Kovai Kings: Retained: M. Shahrukh Khan, B. Sai Sudharsan, S. Lokeshwar, C. Andre Siddarth, M. Siddharth, R.S. Ambrish, B. Sachin, Jhathavedh Subramanyan, G. Govinth, R. Divakar, P. Vidyuth.

Released: P. Bhuvaneswaran, K. Vishal Vaidhya, R. Rohit, S. Guru Raghavendran, L. Pradheep Vishal, N. Kabilan, K.T.A. Madhava Prasad, B. Aaditya, C.H. Jitendra Kumar.

Remaining purse: ₹5,84,375.

Nellai Royal Kings: Retained: R. Sonu Yadav, G. Ajitesh, Muhammed Adnan Khan, S. Rithik Easwaran, S.R. Athish, Sachin Rathi, V. Yudheeswaran, N.S. Harish, S. Selvaganapathi, B. Emmanuel Cherian, D. Santhosh Kumar, B. Rocky, J. Rohan, A. Arun Bala Yoghi, S. Risheek Kumar.

Released: K.B. Arun Karthick, Ajay K. Krishnan, P. Nirmal Kumar, S. Vijaya Kumar, Karan Hamir Sampat, Udayakumar.

Remaining purse: ₹16,56,250.

Siechem Madurai Panthers: Retained: M. Karthik, M.A. Atheeq Ur Rahman, B. Anirudh Sita Ram, Gurjapneet Singh, D. Deepesh, P. Vignesh, P. Saravanan, N.S. Chaturved, S. Rajalingam, S. Surya Anand, S. Shankar Ganesh.

Released: M. Ashwin, K. Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, C. Sarath Kumar, S. Ganesh, V. Sanjeev Kumar, R. Ram Arvindh, M. Ayush, Shyam Sundar, J. Ajay Chetan.

Remaining purse: ₹22,78,125.

SKM Salem Spartans: Retained: M. Mohammed, C. Hari Nishaanth, S. Nidhish Rajagopal, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, S. Ajith Ram, M. Eshwar, S. Abishiek, Sunny Sandhu, R. Vivek, S. Harish Kumar, M. Poiyamozhi, Rahil Sanjay Shah, V.S. Karthick Manikandan, Sudhan Sanjeevi Kandeepan, D. Rahul, M.E. Yazh Arun Mozhi.

Released: Himalaya, J. Gowri Sankar, R. Kavin, R. Pavithran, R. Alexander.

Remaining purse: ₹4,71,875.