Josh Inglis To Make IPL U-Turn After Rs 8.6 Crore Bid? Report Makes Startling Claim

Australian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis may postpone his honeymoon to take part in IPL 2026 immediately after his wedding, according to a report by Cricbuzz. The cricketer was released by Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction amid reports that he would play just four matches in the competition due to his wedding. However, a major surprise occurred on the day of the auction when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) engaged in a massive bidding war, with LSG eventually securing him for Rs 8.6 crore. The report claimed that Justin Langer and Tom Moody (Coach and Director of LSG), as well as Daniel Vettori and Pat Cummins (Coach and Captain of SRH), were more aware of Inglis' availability for the upcoming season than Ricky Ponting, the head coach of PBKS.

"Look, he obviously was going to be out for personal reasons, and that's always subject to change. You never know-people can make different decisions once the auction is done. We thought that given the relationship Dan and he have, Dan could maybe convince him to play a few extra games. That's where it came from," Varun Aaron, the bowling coach of SRH, told the media after the auction.

With the player commanding such a high price, a source claimed that Inglis may end up changing his plans. The player is set to get married on April 18 and was originally supposed to leave for his honeymoon soon after, but he might now postpone the trip. In that case, he would arrive in India for the start of the season, leave briefly for his wedding, and rejoin the side once the ceremony is over.

"Now that he has received such a high bid, he might even arrive at the start of the season, leave for the wedding, and come back soon after," a source told Cricbuzz.

Earlier, PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia revealed that Inglis informed the franchise at the last moment that he would not be available for IPL 2026, which led to his release ahead of the auction.

"We didn't really let go of Josh. I mean, Josh unfortunately, sadly, only told us at the last minute, which was not very fair given that he had been with us for a while," Wadia told The Hindu.

"I think everyone knew when the retention deadline was approaching, and we were informed by him 45 minutes before the deadline that he was getting married and needed time to relax and recuperate. He said he was going to be available for only a couple of weeks [three games]. We told him he should have informed us earlier. I don't think it was very professional of him. You can't call someone 45 minutes before and say, 'Hey, I'm not coming,' especially when he knew that we were planning on retaining him. I wish him all the best, but the manner in which he behaved was not very professional."

Topics mentioned in this article

Josh Inglis Punjab Kings Sunrisers Hyderabad Lucknow Super Giants IPL 2026 Cricket