Ahead of the mini-auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16, Australian batsman-wicketkeeper Josh Inglis has formally confirmed his limited availability for the 2026 Indian Premier League. Despite having a successful 2025 season, the Punjab Kings discharged him a few weeks prior to his decision. The Australian has stated that he will only be able to play in four games throughout the upcoming season.
Five of the 1,355 players who have signed up for the IPL 2026 Auction—including Inglis—have notified the BCCI of their limited availability. Ashton Agar, William Sutherland, Adam Milne, and Rilee Rossouw have also mentioned their limited involvement because of personal and international obligations. Inglis, who is presently playing in the Ashes Test at the Gabba, informed the BCCI that he would only be available for about two weeks or four games, or 25% of the season. The 30-year-old has listed himself at a basic price of INR 2 crore in spite of this restriction.
Because Inglis’ wedding is taking place within the IPL window, his availability is constrained. The Punjab Kings decided to release him on the last day of the retention deadline as a direct result of this. At first, PBKS was eager to stick with Inglis, keeping 21 players from their 2025 runner-up team. But head coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged that it became nonsensical to keep a player who was missing for the majority of the season.
Ponting explained the release of Inglis.
The Australian played in 11 IPL 2025 games and scored 278 runs at a remarkable rate of 162.57 and an average of 30.88. His best effort came against the Mumbai Indians in Punjab’s most recent league game, where he blasted a 73 off 42 balls to help his team finish in the top two. In Qualifier 2, he defeated Jasprit Bumrah and scored 20 runs in one over, capping off a strong effort.
Ponting explained that although Inglis is an excellent player, their tournament objectives did not align with keeping someone who could only contribute momentarily. Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, and Praveen Dubey were also discharged by the franchise.
“Josh is an excellent athlete. He would have been a fantastic addition to our team moving ahead. However, he would not be available for most of the competition this year. Because of this, I found it nearly impossible to keep him on board,” the head coach stated.
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