For the first time in an event, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will not be the most active team in the auction and the one with one of the biggest purses, as the franchise has decided to build on their success in 2025 as they aim to win their maiden title in 2026. After reaching the final for the first time in 11 years in Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting’s first season in charge as the new captain and coach, the franchise has now decided to go ahead with the same group of players, with Glenn Maxwell being the biggest player they have released.
In a shock move, the franchise has released Josh Inglis despite him playing a key part in their campaign last year. Aaron Hardie is one of three Australian players released by the franchise.
After years of being the team that is most active at the auction, that will not be the case this time. The franchise will have just Rs. 11.5 crore to spend at the auction, where they can buy a maximum of four players, out of which two can be overseas.
It is worth noting that Mitchell Owen, who came in as an injury replacement for Maxwell, has been retained.
Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Retained And Released Players
Retained: Shreyas Iyer (26.75 crore), Marcus Stoinis (11 crore), Nehal Wadhera (4.2 crore), Priyansh Arya (3.8 crore), Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Prabhsimran Singh (4 crore), Vishnu Vinod (95 lakh), Azmatullah Omarzai (2.4 crore), , Musheer Khan (30 lakh), Suryansh Shedge (30 lakh), Shashank Singh (5.5 crore), Arshdeep Singh (18 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (18 crore), Lockie Ferguson (2 crore), Harpreet Brar (1.5 crore), Vyshak Vijaykumar (1.8 crore), Yash Thakur (1.6 crore), Xavier Bartlett (80 lakh), Mitchell Owen
Released: Glenn Maxwell (4.20 crore), Aaron Hardie (1.25 crore), Josh Inglis (2.60 crore), Kuldeep Sen (Rs. 80 Lakhs), Pravin Dubey