Will Shreyas and Ponting get Livingstone for Maxwell?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a near-perfect season in 2025. Almost everything was going well, except for the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A new team led by Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting has done wonders. This means that going into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, PBKS only needs to fill a few gaps.

PBKS Conservation List

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

PBKS released the list of players

Glenn Maxwell✈️, Aaron Hardie✈️, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Sen, Josh Inglis✈️(week)

Purse and locations for IPL 2026 auction

PBKS has the second lowest purse for IPL 20256 auction – INR 11.50 crore. However, since they have already retained 21 players and only need to fill 4 slots to reach the maximum of 25 players, they have more than enough money. At best, PBKS can acquire 2 foreign players, since it has already retained 6.

PBKS players should target IPL 2026 auctions

Punjab will have to find a replacement for Josh Inglis, who will not be available for most of the IPL 2026 season. They will either look to bring in a foreign wicketkeeper or an overseas batter to replace him at number three or four. If they get a batter, they will have to buy another Indian wicketkeeper.

As they lost Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Hardie, they will need an overseas all-rounder. They may prefer someone who spins the balls, as they have many pace options. They have released a leg-spinner in Pravin Dubey, so they will look for another spinner and a pace replacement for Kuldeep Sen.