Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have released experienced wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock along with a few other big names ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The team also let go of Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Moeen Ali and Anrich Nortje, while Mayank Markande was traded to another franchise.
KKR acquired Quinton de Kock for ₹3.60 Crore during the IPL Mega Auction in 2025. He featured in 8 matches in IPL 2025, scoring 152 runs with an average of 21.71 and striking at 129.91. De Kock's best performance came in an IPL match in Guwahati, where he scored an unbeaten 97 off 61 deliveries against Rajasthan Royals (with 8 fours and 6 sixes).
He has played a total of 115 IPL games, 3,309 runs (average 30.63, strike rate 134.02) with 2 hundreds and 24 fifties. This article examines three franchises likely to pursue De Kock in IPL 2026 auction.
3 Teams Likely to Target Quinton de Kock at the Auction
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have a strong opening pair in Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. When they get going, they can dominate any bowling attack. In IPL 2024, the duo was in incredible form and broke several records. Their powerful starts were a major reason SRH finished as runners-up that season. However, things didn’t go as well in IPL 2025. Head struggled for consistency, and although Abhishek played some good innings, he also had quite a few low scores. With their openers not performing the way they did earlier, SRH found it hard to maintain momentum.
Even though the team still believes in the Abhishek-Head combination for IPL 2026, adding someone like Quinton de Kock could strengthen the top order. He would be a solid option to bat at No. 3 and bring stability when needed. SRH's middle-order was out of sorts in IPL 2025. Head and Abhishek's inconsistent run did not help matters. De Kock's inclusion would strengthen SRH's batting. He could capitalize on a great start provided by the openers. In case, they perish cheaply, he can take on the mantle of scoring runs at a fast pace. With a purse of ₹25.5 crore, SRH have enough money to target De Kock.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) kicked off IPL 2025 with a bang, winning four games right off the bat. Despite this excellent start, they missed the playoffs due to a major decline in form as their top-order players struggled to capitalise on the power play. In many instances, DC's batsmen took far too long to score runs early on, which negatively impacted them in the latter stages of their innings.
Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been released, with the latter having had a very disappointing season. Therefore, DC need to find some real firepower with their batting, especially to help support KL Rahul, Abishek Porel and Karun Nair.
Finding an aggressive opener to take advantage of this power play period should be one of their primary objectives for the IPL 2026 auction. With all of Quinton de Kock's years of experience and his ability to hit the ball hard, he could make a good addition to the Delhi squad. Additionally, with a healthy budget of ₹21.80 crore going into the auction, DC should be able to pursue the South African superstar.
Before the IPL 2026 auction, KKR has let go of Quinton de Kock, however, there are plenty of reasons why KKR might want to bring him back into the fold. The release of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (KKR's other wicketkeeper-batter) also create a noticeable void in KKR's squad. Therefore, it is likely that KKR would try to bid on de Kock at the auction, possibly at a lower amount than they paid previously. De Kock plays the dual role of wicketkeeper and opening batsman.
Because of KKR's familiarity with de Kock's skills from his time playing for KKR, KKR would also benefit from having him in the mix for the upcoming season while the franchise would also have the advantage of using his experience throughout the coming years. KKR has the largest budget of all franchises going into the IPL 2026 auction with ₹64.30 crore. The franchise can sign a total of six international players. Hence, de Kock will have a good chance of being a member of KKR again during the 2026 season.
