Ricky Ponting explains the reason for releasing Josh Inglis ahead of IPL 2026

Punjab Kings (PBKS), the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 finalists, have released five players ahead of the 19th edition of the lucrative league's mini-auction, which is scheduled for December of this year. Josh Inglis, the outstanding wicketkeeper, and Glenn Maxwell, the fashionable batsman, are two of the most significant releases.

Inglis's release was the most unexpected, as his performance took the audience aback. He had an outstanding IPL season, scoring a maximum of 73 and scoring 278 runs in 11 games with an astounding strike rate of 162.57. Especially in the second half of the season, he was the crucial middle-order player. He quickly established himself as a valuable asset for Indian conditions thanks to his versatility as a batsman, his ease in clearing boundaries, and his ability to work spinners.

Ponting revealed that the Aussie batter won't be available for the entirety of the season. "Josh is a terrific player. I would have loved to have had him as part of our squad going forward. But this year, he wasn't going to be available for the majority of the tournament. So for that reason, I found it pretty much impossible to be able to be able to retain him," the head coach said.

PBKS chose to release him in accordance with his choice. The franchise will now concentrate on the auction that is set for December 16 in Abu Dhabi, when PBKS will search for the ideal replacement. After finishing runners-up in the IPL 2025, the team intends to bolster their roster to go the distance with a residual purse of ₹11.5 crore and up to four player spots to fill.

Apart from Inglis, the Kings let go of star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey ahead of the next month's auction. 

PBKS full squad ahead of IPL 2026 auction: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Musheer Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmahtullah Omarzai, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Arshdeep Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar.

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