Less than a month remains for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to announce their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Talented wicketkeeper batsman Ishan Kishan appears to be one of the top choices as three IPL-winning teams are interested in acquiring his services ahead of the 19th edition of the tournament.
Kishan joined Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the IPL 2025 mega auction, signing for the former champions for a whopping INR 11.25 crore. Despite scoring a breathtaking century on debut for SRH, Kishan had a disappointing campaign this year. He scored 354 runs in 14 matches at an average of 35.40 and a strike rate of 152.59. However, 200 runs of the total came in two matches.
Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are interested in signing Kishan, said a Times of India (TOI) report. It is important to note that MI is leading the race to sign Kishan, who was part of the franchise from 2018 to 2024. Notably, ahead of the 2022 season, MI hired Kishan for a staggering INR 15.25 crore.
Kishan has also been approached, but nothing is final yet. All three teams are looking for a wicketkeeper who can bat in the top order. The Jharkhand cricketer meets the requirements.
While Ryan Rickelton played well for MI in IPL 2025, taking some key knocks at the top of the order and handling the gloves decently, having Kishan in the line-up will add more flexibility to the management’s thought process as he is an Indian. The report added that “it also allows them to be ready for life after Rohit Sharma.” Rohit is now 38 and has already retired from Tests and T20Is for the national team.
Kishan made a great start to his Ranji Trophy 2025-26 campaign, hitting a 247-ball 173 in Jharkhand’s opening match against Tamil Nadu, helping his team register a resounding victory by an innings and 114 runs.
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