Last-minute IPL replacements eligible for retention

During the final round of the Indian Premier League league stage, three franchises combined to sign four injury replacements. While none of the recruits featured in their respective teams’ last league fixtures, the moves were clearly made with an eye on retention options ahead of IPL 2027.

On Saturday (May 23, 2026), Mumbai Indians announced the signing of Mahipal Lomror and Ruchit Ahir as replacements for Quinton de Kock and Raj Bawa respectively, while Rajasthan Royals signed Emanjot Chahal in place of Ravi Singh.

A day later, Kolkata Knight Riders confirmed the signing of Luvnith Sisodia as a replacement for Matheesha Pathirana.

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According to the IPL’s injury replacement regulations, “in case a player gets injured during or before the 12th match”, both the injured player and his replacement become eligible for retention ahead of the next IPL auction.

Even though these announcements were officially made after the completion of the 12th league game, an IPL official confirmed to The Hindu that all the injuries had been communicated to the league authorities before the conclusion of each franchise’s 12th fixture. As a result, all four replacements will remain eligible for retention ahead of IPL 2027. The same provision applies to injury replacements announced earlier during the season as well.

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The regulation has quietly played a significant role in shaping squad-building strategies over the last few editions. For instance, Chennai Super Kings had signed Dewald Brevis midway through IPL 2025 as a replacement for Gurjapneet Singh and eventually retained both players ahead of the previous auction.

Consequently, franchises are increasingly viewing late-season replacement signings not merely as emergency cover, but as a strategic way to expand their pool of retention options without entering potentially expensive bidding wars at the auction table.