An IPL squad may field four overseas players at a time, which makes every foreign retention a bet a franchise has to justify twice. These are the ten most expensive.
01
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Sunrisers Hyderabad
₹23 crore
₹1.64 crore a league match
South Africa, retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad at ₹23 crore — ₹1.64 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
02
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Lucknow Super Giants
₹21 crore
₹1.50 crore a league match
West Indies, retained by Lucknow Super Giants at ₹21 crore — ₹1.50 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
03
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Gujarat Titans
₹18 crore
₹1.29 crore a league match
Afghanistan, retained by Gujarat Titans at ₹18 crore — ₹1.29 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
04
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Sunrisers Hyderabad
₹18 crore
₹1.29 crore a league match
Australia, retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad at ₹18 crore — ₹1.29 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
05
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Gujarat Titans
₹15.75 crore
₹1.12 crore a league match
England, retained by Gujarat Titans at ₹15.75 crore — ₹1.12 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
06
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Sunrisers Hyderabad
₹14 crore
₹1 crore a league match
Australia, retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad at ₹14 crore — ₹1 crore for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
07
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Mumbai Indians
₹12.50 crore
₹89 lakh a league match
New Zealand, retained by Mumbai Indians at ₹12.50 crore — ₹89 lakh for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
08
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Rajasthan Royals
₹12.50 crore
₹89 lakh a league match
England, retained by Rajasthan Royals at ₹12.50 crore — ₹89 lakh for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
09
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Royal Challengers Bengaluru
₹12.50 crore
₹89 lakh a league match
Australia, retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at ₹12.50 crore — ₹89 lakh for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
10
INVESTING
IPL 2026 · Kolkata Knight Riders
₹12 crore
₹86 lakh a league match
West Indies, retained by Kolkata Knight Riders at ₹12 crore — ₹86 lakh for each of the fourteen league matches, and only four overseas players can be on the field at once..
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Salaries are the retention figures the ten franchises filed before the 15 November 2025 deadline, parsed from the Wikipedia tables that cite BCCI, ESPNcricinfo and Olympics.com. Per-match…
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