PBKS Retained and Released players list for IPL 2026: Full Punjab Kings squad ahead of auction

On Saturday, November 15, the finalists of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Punjab Kings (PBKS), announced the complete list of the players that they have retained and released from the squad.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) were not at all active during the trade window ahead of the retention deadline, and they remained mostly quiet after a successful campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

However, Punjab Kings (PBKS) have released some major names from their squad ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini auction, which is set to he held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.

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They have decided to offload the explosive Australia National Cricket Team all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, as well as the star wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis. Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey are the other two names released by the franchise.

List of Players Retained by Punjab Kings:

Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Musheer Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Arshdeep Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar

List of Players Released by Punjab Kings:

Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey

List of Players Traded IN and OUT by PBKS:

No trades

Love Glenn and what he brings to the game - Ricky Ponting

After the announcement made by Punjab Kings (PBKS), their head coach, Ricky Ponting, explained why they decided to release Glenn Maxwell, who was bought by the franchise for INR 4.2 crore.

He said that they absolutely love what Glenn Maxwell brings to the table but they weren't able to bring the best out of him in IPL 2025 and didn't see him being a part of the first-choice playing XI.

“Love Glenn and what he brings to the game. Unfortunately, last year we weren’t able to get the best out of him,” Ponting told Star Sports.
Looking ahead to this season, we didn’t feel he would be part of our starting team, so we decided to release him,” Ponting added.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Punjab Kings, Satish Menon, said that they wanted to retain the strong Indian core and thanked the released players for their services. He added that the retention of Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh ensures that they have maintained stability in the leadership group as they aim to clinch their first-ever Indian Premier League trophy. Menon said:

"We thank all the released players for their commitment to the Punjab Kings family. Our paramount goal was retaining the strong Indian core of our squad, which is absolutely essential for long-term consistency. By securing key performers like Captain Shreyas Iyer and spearhead Arshdeep Singh, we ensure stability in leadership. We will aim to execute a targeted strategy and focus on high-impact replacements.”

Also Read: DC Retained and Released players list for IPL 2026: Full Delhi Capitals squad ahead of the auction