IPL 2026 auction: How Punjab Kings stack up
What's the story
More than 300 players will go under the hammer in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction set to take place on December 16. Punjab Kings (PBKS), the IPL 2025 runners-up, have a paltry remaining purse going into the bidding event. The Kings, who have a successful captain in Shreyas Iyer, can fill in a maximum of four slots. Here are further details.
Players released
Players released and purse remaining
In a bold move, Punjab Kings parted ways with Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who was re-signed by the franchise for ₹4.2 crore last year. Maxwell tanked in IPL 2025, scoring just 48 runs from six innings. The Kings have also released Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, and Praveen Dubey, freeing up a total of ₹11.50 crore.
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PBKS retained their core
Players retained: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
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Road ahead for PBKS
As mentioned, PBKS have left their core group unscathed. Therefore, the Shreyas Iyer-led side is expected to raise the bidding amount of other players. They can also go after a batting all-rounder to replace Maxwell.
IPL 2025
How PBKS fared in IPL 2025
PBKS's drought for an IPL title continued as Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat them in the 2025 final. However, this was a historic campaign as they qualified for the playoffs after 11 long years. Shreyas led the team to their second IPL final, where they fell short by six runs. He also became the first captain to play the final for three teams.