The Australian wicketkeeper batter Josh Inglis was an important middle-order batter for the Punjab Kings in the 2025 Indian Premier league. His importance was so much that he was promoted to one-down with the captain Shreyas Iyer sacrificing his place and coming at number 4. However, Punjab releasing him ahead of the 2026 IPL has created turmoil. Josh Inglis scored 278 runs playing 11 innings, with a strike rate of 162.57. As per reports, Inglis has cited personal reasons and has himself clarified his unavailability. He even clarified that he won't register himself for the IPL auction too, starting this December 16, in Abu Dhabi. PBKS head coach, the Aussie former captain Ricky Ponting, backed his countryman to be a "terrific player" but confirmed Josh's unavailability for the 2026 IPL. In the official statement by PBKS, Ponting said, "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 retain him." Even the reasons are confirmed, there are claims that Josh Inglish might get married in 2026. Whom did Punjab Kings retain before 2026 IPL? The Shreyas Iyer-led team had a terrific season in 2025 IPL. Punjab Kings played the IPL Final after 11 years. However, the team suffered a heartbreaking loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Prior to the 2026 IPL mini auction, Punjab has retained their core team featuring their captain Shreyas Iyer, and vice captain Shashank Singh. They have kept their regular XI intact and have Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Ary guarding the opening slot. The middle order will have Shreyas himself and Nehal, with Shashank coming down the order. There were rumors that PBKS might release Marcus Stoinis but he has been retained. The bowling troop have their main heads: Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yuzvendra Chahal and Harpreet Brar. Retained players' list: Shreyas Iyer Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Hurnoor Pannu, Musheer Khan, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett. Meanwhile, PBKS released Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Kyle Jamieson, and Pravin Dubey