The IPL 2026 mini-auction is just around the corner and Punjab Kings fans are getting excited. Everyone is eager to see who will stay, who will go and if there will be any trades. After making it to the IPL 2025 final under Shreyas Iyer, PBKS will want to keep that momentum going by making smart decisions for the next season.
PBKS Retained Players for 2026
Here are the players likely to be retained: Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Yash Thakur, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
PBKS Released Players for 2026
These players might be released: Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Kyle Jamieson.
Which PBKS Players didn’t quite live up to their price tags?
- Yuzvendra Chahal PBKS spent a huge INR 18 crore on this leg-spinner but apart from a couple of good games, his performance wasn’t great.
- Marcus Stoinis The Aussie all-rounder cost INR 11 crore but his performance was disappointing. He did alright in the final overs but his role was limited.
- Glenn Maxwell This explosive all-rounder didn’t do well with the bat last season. He bowled okay before getting sidelined but his batting was a big problem.
What’s the Likely Budget for Punjab Kings at the IPL 2026 Auction?
Since Punjab Kings made it to the final last season they won’t mess with the team too much. They won’t let go of Yuzvendra Chahal even though he’s expensive. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are other possibilities if they want to free up some cash. These two Aussie all-rounders are getting older and PBKS might look for better options at the IPL 2026 auction.Releasing both of them would free up INR 15.25 crore. Releasing Azmatullah Omarzai (INR 2.4 crore), Lockie Ferguson (INR 2 crore) and Aaron Hardie (INR 1.25 crore) would add another INR 6.25 crore. They could get an additional INR 1.70 crore by releasing four minor players.
Punjab Kings had INR 35 lakhs left over from the last auction. This would bring their total budget to INR 23.55 crore. They brought in Mitch Owen as a replacement for INR 3 crore and it’s likely they’ll keep him. So going into the IPL 2026 auction Punjab Kings would have a remaining balance of INR 20.55 crore out of the total INR 120 crore.
