Josh Inglis, an Australian wicketkeeper-batter who was selected by the Lucknow Super Giants for INR 8.6 crore at the most recent IPL mini-auction, has stated that he won’t be fully available for the 2026 campaign. With the IPL 2026 scheduled to take place from March 26 to May 31, Inglis said that he would tie the knot in early April.
“Well, I sort of watched a lot of it [IPL auction] and I was pushed back in the pecking order,” Josh Inglis stated to ABC Sport. “This year, I’m not completely available. In early April, I will tie the knot. To be honest, I didn’t really expect to go. I kind of saw my name go unsold. After the first one, I thought, “Okay, this is it, I’m going to bed,” and I had to turn on for tomorrow [Ashes], but when I woke up, I saw the news. It wasn’t until I saw a couple messages this morning that I realised.
After being released by the team, Inglis sparked a bidding battle at the auction after first going unsold, despite the fact that his former IPL coach at Punjab Kings, Ricky Ponting, had alluded to his partial availability. Inglis and coach Justin Langer, who had previously collaborated at the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL), were reunited after LSG ultimately outbid Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Josh Inglis was one of the players the team was hoping to retain for IPL 2026, according to PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia, but the player announced his lack of full availability “45 minutes before the deadline.”
“We didn’t truly let Josh Inglis go.
Given that Josh had worked with us for some time, it seemed unfair that he only informed us at the last minute, Wadia told The Hindu. “I believe everyone was aware that the retention was approaching, and he told us forty-five minutes prior to the deadline that he needed time to rest and recover because he was getting married. He stated that he would only be available for [three games] for a few weeks.
“We told him that he ought to have notified us sooner. He didn’t act in a very professional manner, in my opinion. Anyone who is aware of a deadline, in my opinion, is not acting very professionally. You can’t contact someone forty-five minutes in advance and tell them, ‘Hey, I’m not coming,’ especially if he was aware that we could keep him.
“However, I hope the best for him. He is a talented athlete, and I have no doubt that he will represent Australia well. And we’ll see if he participates in the IPL. Since he is a fellow human, I hope the best for him. However, the way he acted was not very professional.
Josh Inglis was a disruptor in PBKS’ lineup during his maiden IPL season, scoring 278 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 162.57 and an average of 30.88. A match-winning 73 off 42 balls from No. 3 against a Mumbai Indians assault led by Jasprit-Bumrah in Jaipur was part of the total. In 152 T20 innings, Inglis has amassed 3853 runs with a strike rate of little under 150 and an average of 29.86.
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