Punjab Kings have been one of the most underperforming teams in IPL history. Since joining the league in 2008, they have only reached the playoffs twice, with their last appearance in 2014. Over the past ten seasons, PBKS has not qualified for the playoffs. Looking ahead to IPL 2025, the franchise faces an important question: What will be their strategy?
Punjab Kings have retained only two players, uncapped batters Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. This choice leaves them with a substantial budget of INR 110.50 crore—the largest among all franchises. With this financial advantage, Punjab Kings plan to build a competitive squad at the auction.
PBKS IPL 2026 Retained Players List
| Player Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Shreyas Iyer (C) | Batter |
| Nehal Wadhera | Batter |
| Prabhsimran Singh | WK-Batter |
| Vishnu Vinod | WK-Batter |
| Harnoor Pannu | Batter |
| Pyla Avinash | Batter |
| Marcus Stoinis* | All-Rounder |
| Marco Jansen* | All-Rounder |
| Azmatullah Omarzai* | All-Rounder |
| Xavier Bartlett* | All-Rounder |
| Mitch Owen* | All-Rounder |
| Harpreet Brar | All-Rounder |
| Priyansh Arya | All-Rounder |
| Musheer Khan | All-Rounder |
| Suryansh Shedge | All-Rounder |
| Arshdeep Singh | Pace Bowler |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Spinner |
| Lockie Ferguson* | Pace Bowler |
| Vyshak Vijaykumar | Pace Bowler |
| Yash Thakur | Pace Bowler |
PBKS IPL 2026 Released Players list
| Player Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Josh Inglis* | WK-Batter |
| Aaron Hardie* | All-Rounder |
| Glenn Maxwell* | All-Rounder |
| Kuldeep Sen | Pace Bowler |
| Praveen Dubey | Spinner |
