Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting stated that he would have 'liked' to keep Josh Inglis, but it was not possible because the Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman will be unavailable for 'the majority' of the IPL 2026 season.

It came as a major surprise to find Inglis' name missing from PBKS' retention list. He played 11 games for the squad last season, his first time in IPL, and scored 278 runs at an average of 30.89 with a strike rate of 162.57.

He quickly established himself as a strong asset for Indian conditions, owing to his ability to bat in numerous places, effortlessly clear boundaries, and manage spinners.

“Josh Inglis is another one who played some great knocks for us in the back half of the tournament. He missed a few games through the course of the season due to various reasons. He has also made me aware this year that 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," Ponting said on Star Sports.

PBKS also released Glenn Maxwell, the big-hitting spin all-rounder, who struggled when he returned to Punjab, scoring only 48 runs in six innings in IPL 2025, before an injury ended his season early.

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

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