Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a near-perfect season in 2025. Almost everything is right, barring the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A new team under Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting worked wonders. That means, coming into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, PBKS need to plug just a couple of gaps.
PBKS retention list
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis✈️, Azmatullah Omarzai✈️, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod (wk), Xavier Bartlett✈️, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen✈️, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Marco Jansen✈️, Lockie Ferguson✈️
PBKS released players list
Glenn Maxwell✈️, Aaron Hardie✈️, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Sen, Josh Inglis✈️(wk)
Purse & slots for IPL 2026 auction
PBKS has the second-lowest purse for the IPL 20256 auction — INR 11.50 crore. However, since they have already retained 21 players and only need to fill 4 slots to reach the maximum of 25 players, they have more than enough money. At best, PBKS can acquire 2 overseas players, as they have already retained 6.
Players PBKS should target IPL 2026 auction
Punjab will have to find a replacement for Josh Inglis, who won’t be available for most of the IPL 2026 season. They’ll either look to get a foreign wicketkeeper or a foreign batter as his replacement at number three or four. If they get a batter, they’ll need to buy another Indian wicketkeeper.
| Player | Type |
|---|---|
| Luvnith Sisodia/Vansh Bedi/Kartik Sharma | Indian wicketkeeper |
| David Miller/Jonny Bairstow/ Tim Seifert/Shai Hope | Foreign batter/wicketkeeper |
| Liam Livingstone/Wanindu Hasaranga/ Michael Bracewell/Daniel Sams/ Matthew Short/Kyle Jamieson | Foreign all-rounder |
| Chetan Sakariya/Akash Madhwal/ Akash Deep/Ashok Sharma | Indian fast bowler |
| Ravi Bishnoi/Karn Sharma/ Kumar Kartikeya/Vignesh Puthur | Indian spinner |
As they have lost both Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Hardie, they’ll need one foreign all-rounder. They might prefer someone who bowls spin, since they have plenty of pace options. They released a leg spinner in Pravin Dubey, so they’ll look to get another spinner and a pace replacement for Kuldeep Sen.
