Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Retentions: Full List Of Retained And Released Players, Purse Remaining

Punjab Kings (PBKS), the runners-up of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, have made very few changes to their squad ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. PBKS have retained the vast majority of their roster and have not been involved in any trade business. Punjab Kings' most high-profile release is Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who failed to live up to expectations in 2025 and got injured mid-season. Australian wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis has also been released, with PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting confirming that he's set to be unavailable for the majority of the 2026 season.

Under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, who was bought for a franchise record Rs 26.75 crore, PBKS topped the league table in IPL 2025 and narrowly lost out to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final.

PBKS reaped the rewards for their backing of uncapped Indian talent in IPL 2025, with the likes of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh playing starring roles.

While Maxwell has been released, fellow Australian all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Owen (who was brought in as Maxwell's replacement) have been retained by the franchise. 

PBKS have kept hold of pace spearhead Arshdeep Singh and star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who each cost the franchise Rs 18 crore.

As a result, PBKS will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of only Rs 11.50 crore - the second-lowest out of any team, and a stark contrast to their approach in previous auctions gone by.

Players Retained: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Musheer Khan, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar

Players Released: Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey

AUCTION BUDGET: Rs 11.50 crore

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Shreyas Iyer