The countdown has started for the IPL 2026 auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. It is a one-day event that will start at 1pm local time (2.30pm IST). For the high-voltage event, Shreyas Iyer arrived in Dubai to represent Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the auction.

The franchise has shared a specially edited video to capture the arrival of their 'Sarpanch' in style. The video is full of swagger. To add some feel, the video has the recent viral soundtrack from Akshaye Khanna's latest movie, 'Dhurandhar'. With the essence from the movie and the soundtrack, the video shared by PBKS attracted a lot of attention from netizens without wasting any time. Through the video we can see Iyer stepped out of a black BMW.

He is all set to represent in the PBKS auction pavilion. It was reported before that their head coach Ricky Ponting is uncertain for the auction, so Iyer will take his place at the table, which will be a big moment for the cricketer as it shows how much the franchise trusts their skipper. After an impressive season, PBKS retained most of their previous players. From the auction, they can rope in 4, including 2 overseas players, with a purse of INR 11.50 crore.

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Watch Shreyas Iyer's entry here

CAPTAIN SHREYAS IYER IS READY FOR THE IPL AUCTION...!!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mpwy7Rl3LS

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 15, 2025

PBKS retained players list for the IPL 2026 season:

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

Purse remaining: INR 11.50 crore out of INR 125 crore

Slots remaining: 4 (2 overseas)

Ahead of the upcoming auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026 Auction), an all-rounder from Australia expresses his desire to play for Punjab Kings (PBKS). In an interview, the all-rounder directly said that he wishes to play for PBKS, the runner-up of the previous IPL season, IPL 2025.

Punjab Kings had a promising campaign in the last season. Under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, they reached the final of the league. There, they lost agains Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and concluded the season as the second best team. In IPL 2026, there will be high hopes around the franchise.

Nikhil Chaudhary, Delhi-born and now an Australian cricketer, has the desire to play for PBKS. The 29-year-old is known for his spin bowling and hard-hitting abilities as a lower-end batter. Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, there are some videos of Chaudhary that have been surfacing on social media platforms, depicting his skills as a limited-over cricketer.

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Australian all-rounder wishes to play of Punjab Kings in IPL

Australian Cricketer Nikhil Chaudhary wants to play for Punjab Kings in IPL.🚨

pic.twitter.com/PVIDbw9Bx9

— JATT TORONTO ALA (@GoraJatt_) December 10, 2025

The allrounder has been in great form in Australian domestic cricket. For Tasmania, Nikhil scored 163 runs during a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales and was named the best player of the game. Before that, against Victoria, he registered 38 & 25 runs in the first and second innings, respectively. On December 5, during the Tasmania vs South Australia match, Chaudhary got 42 runs in the second innings.

The Delhi-born has a strong connection with Punjab, as they played for the state. In the Punjabi language, he said, "Hopefully, in the future, I'll play for Punjab in the IPL."

Punjab Kings (PBKS) made some intersting decision by retaining multiple uncapped Indain cricketers while they decided to let go Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, and Pravin Dubey. Ahead of IPL 2026, one of the uncapped Indian players of PBKS bowled brilliantly on the first day of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025). 

Punjab Kings star Yash Thakur took 3 crucial wickets for Vidarbha cricket team against Chhattisgarh at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow. Thakur claimed three wickets in 4 overs, against 25 runs, which secured his economy rate at 6.25. Chhattisgarh, batting first, was able to score only 133 runs in 20 overs for 9 wickets. 

The target was achievable on paper, but the bowlers of Chhattisgarh were too good to protect their total. Vidarbha was going behind the target well until Shashank Singh, another PBKS star, was on the crease. His dismissal proved fatal for the second batting team. Vidarbha bundled for only 106 runs in 19.1 overs. 

Read More: Who is the RCB pacer who took 2 wickets on the opening day of SMAT 2025?

PBKS talent yash Thakur got 3 wickets in SMAT 2025 match

Despite the result, the brilliant bowling performance by Yash Thakur should not be diminished. In IPL 2025, he played only a couple of matches for the runners-up of IPL 2025. In those 2 matches, the pacer got a wicket as well. But his economy rate was on the higher side. Still, the manager showed trust in the emerging talent. 

PBKS retained players list: 

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

The IPL 2026 retention window saw a range of surprising exits in recent seasons, with the celebrated Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the forefront of the story, notably after parting ways with the Australian star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and England wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis. Fans and analysts were surprised by this decision from PBKS, especially given that they had also been spotted retaining at least one of the two proven match-winners. PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting has now offered a clear rationale behind the move, claiming that Inglis’ poor availability and Maxwell's diminishing form contributed to the decision to part ways with them.

Ponting said, while Josh Inglis is a talented and versatile wicketkeeper-batter, his international commitments meant he would be unavailable for much of the IPL. Following an international tour, a team in need of stability and continuity cannot increase its reliance on a player who is not available for most fixtures, as Ponting pointed out. He also mentioned he would like to have Inglis as part of the squad, but the team had to make a tough decision due to concerns about him being available.

The decision to release Glenn Maxwell was based on his actual performance; he struggled in IPL 2025, scoring only 48 runs and taking 4 wickets in seven matches, and therefore didn't play with the effectiveness we know he can. In fact, Ponting said that PBKS "couldn’t get the best out of him" last season, and as they plan for IPL 2026, they didn’t see him as part of their starting XI. Given that the franchise wanted to build a tougher and balanced outfit, it didn't make sense to sign Maxwell at the price PBKS signed him for. After finishing as runners-up in 2025, PBKS has now retained 21 players, going into the mini-auction, we went in with 4 slots empty, with 2 for overseas players.

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Ponting’s Vision in the Punjab Kings’ Rebuild

Ponting’s comments reinforce PBKS’ change in philosophy to want to build a squad that’s more focused on consistency and availability. With Shreyas Iyer continuing as captain, it’s their hope that by plugging up any holes, they will also be able to find players who can show up through the season without missing time for any reason.

Leading into the December 16 mini-auction, PBKS is expected to target players who provide a multi-utility (form and reliability) with their international contingent playing a large part in the overhaul plan heading into IPL 2026.

IPL 2025 runner-up Punjab Kings (PBKS) are likely to make some changes for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. They could aim to strengthen their spin bowling department for the IPL 2026 campaign.

It is reported that the team management has shortlisted multiple Australian spinners, for whom they can put up the paddle during the mini auction. In the previous season, PBKS was mostly dependent on Yuzvendra Chahal for quality spin bowling. Apart from Chahal, Harpreet Brar and Afghanistan international Azmatullah Omarzai also played crucial roles.

Though Omarzai proved expensive. In 9 matches, the spin bowling all-rounder claimed 8 wickets at an economy rate of 10.33. Chahal began his IPL 2025 campaign in an unconventional manner but quickly bounced back. The experienced spinner took 16 wickets in 14 IPL 2025 games. But Harpreet Brar emerged as a surprising element. He got some scalps when the team needed those on immediate effect. He put 10 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 8.64. As there is always some to make some improvements, PBKS is expected to cash in for some players during the auction.

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Punjab Kings can target these players for IPL 2026 season

Unlike going for any star player, the franchise can rely on underrated talents, which they did in IPL 2025. According to reports, Tanveer Sangha, Mattew Kuhnemann, and Cooper Connolly are on the wishlist of PBKS. It is also reported that the management can release Pravin Dubey and Aaron Hardie ahead of IPL 2026. It will not be surprising to see Hardie out of the squad in the near future.

Hardie was not played by PBKS because he initially was not available for the start of the season due to international commitments and a shoulder injury. He became available for selection later, but he did not get any chance to perform on the field for PBKS. The team management acquired the service of the all-rounder for INR 1.25 Crore. 

After appointing veteran cricketer Sairaj Bahutule as the new spin bowling coach, Punjab Kings (PBKS) has made another significant signing ahead of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). This signing will make their coaching team stronger on paper. 

On Friday (October 24) afternoon, through their social media account, PBKS officially announced the signing of Anand Date as their strength and conditioning coach. He will be working with head coach Ricky Ponting, assistant coach Brad Haddin, and other coaching staff of the setup. 

Who is Anand Date? 

Anand Date is a well-known strength and conditioning coach in Indian domestic cricket. In January 2017 he was appointed as the strength & conditioning trainer for the Indian senior men’s cricket team for the series versus England and Bangladesh. He worked within camps of the National Cricket Academy and BCCI-organized training camps. Anand cemented his reputation for developing and overseeing fitness, sports science, conditioning, injury prevention, etc. for the players. 

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Appointing Anand Date is a significant move by Punjab Kings, the runner-up of IPL 2025, as their squad is full of young and exciting talents. Anand has the experience of working with emerging cricketers, which can be fruitful with PBKS as well. In the previous IPL season, the strength and conditioning coach for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) was Adrian Le Roux, who left the team in June 2025 to become the new strength and conditioning coach for the Indian men's cricket team. He had a six-year tenure with PBKS. Anand will join the team in place of Adrian. 

The engine room just got stronger. ⚡

Welcome aboard, Anand Date ➡️ Our strength and conditioning coach! 💪 pic.twitter.com/8e3NUHkidG

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) October 24, 2025

Punjab Kings coaching staff for IPL 2026:

Head Coach: Ricky Ponting

Assistant Coach: Brad Haddin

Fast Bowling Coach: James Hopes

Spin Bowling Coach: Sairaj Bahutule

Assistant Bowling Coach: Trevor Gonsalves 

Our strength and conditioning coach: Anand Date

It was a heart-wrenching result for Punjab Kings (PBKS). It was only their second Indian Premier League (IPL) final, and they were riding high on confidence because of their dominating performances in the group stage of IPL 2025. But it was Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) who won the final by only 6 runs and took the trophy away right in front of Punjab Kings. After the grand finale, when RCB was under all the spotlights and glittering in joy, the PBKS dressing room was behind a curtain of grief. During a recent conversation, PBKS star Shashank Singh described the dressing room atmosphere after the summit clash. He said that their players were crying; he saw tears in the owner's eyes. 

"There were players in the dressing room. They were crying. Our owners were feeling bad. They were very disappointed. I saw their tears. It's different from the media, the fans, and the camera. It's a personal loss. You can't just say, "We lost." It takes a lot of time. I still remember, we had a match in the state league the next day. I thought it would get better. But I couldn't get over the final loss," he said. 

Shashank emerged as the last hope for the Shreyas Iyer-led team on the night of June 3, 2025. He remained unbeaten, scoring 61 off 30 with 3 boundaries and 6 over boundaries. He even hit 22 runs off the last four balls against Josh Hazlewood. But that solo effort with the bat proved not enough to outshine RCB. 

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"...that loss, everyone was hurt. I saw their tears. It took some time, but I think we still believe, and we know now that next year we'll turn around the tables. We'll make sure that those moments are ours," he added. 

Shashank Singh said how PBKS coach and captain used to back their boys

The batter revealed how their head coach, Ricky Ponting, and captain, Shreyas Iyer, backed all of the players. They tried to pull out their best by not putting extra pressure but by showing trust in the players. 

"When we went to the IPL, my practice matches were not that special. But the way Ricky Sir and Shreyas Iyer backed me, they told me, "You're our match winner; we're not going to judge you with two IPL matches." It's just that you go and play with your freedom," Shashank informed. 

According to the 2025 year-over-year brand value update of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises conducted by Houlihan Lokey, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) surged into the position of the most valued IPL franchise, overtaking incumbent champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). RCB had an 18.5% increase from 2024's brand value of $227 million to 2025's brand value of $269 million.

The brand value web rtlto played a part in RCB's historic first IPL title in 2023, which capped a 17-year title drought for the franchise and erased the curse of being the only team to have never won the title. Leveraging its massive fan base and Virat Kohli's legacy, the franchise has been able to turn its historical stature into unprecedented commercial opportunism.

RCB Lead Brand Value Charts, PBKS Post Record Growth

Mumbai Indians continue to sit at number two, worth $242l million in brand value, a growth of 18.6%. Worst, Chennai Super Kings, the five-time winners and gold-nibbler of all time, slipped to number three because they could only manage a meager 1.7% increase. Both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Delhi Capitals (DC) showed good health with double-digit growth, increasing their valuation.

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The big shock came by way of Punjab Kings (PBKS). PBKS showed the most overall increase of any team. From $101 million in 2024 to $141 million in 2025 is a stunning 39.6% hike. Conversely, Worth $122 million in 2024, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are also now the least valuable franchise in recent history, and we believe they didn't fare as well, even with a respectable growth percentage of 34.1%.

What does this tell us about the nature of the IPL's finances? It reveals an ecosystem that is constantly evolving. Genuine on-field success paired with the smart, off-field marketing angles remains key to each franchise's overall commercial strength. With RCB finally hoisting the odd silverware, their position atop the valuation graphs feels justified, because they truly found out that having loyal fans and winning can, in fact, translate into brand power.

IPL Team Brand Values 2025 (Houlihan Lokey Report)

Yuzvendra Chahal was one of the key instruments behind Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) run to the final of IPL 2025. The experienced spinner picked up wickets at crucial times to shift the momentum of the matches. But still, the management has multiple reasons to release Chahal before the IPL 2026 mini auction. 

For these 3 reasons PBKS should consider getting rid of Yuzvendra Chahal:

Economy Rate: Without any doubts, IPL 2025 was a memorable season for PBKS. But can we say the same for Chahal, keeping an eye on his stats he produced on that campaign? He played 14 matches and 13 innings and had a 9.55 economy rate with his name, which is far away from his best. In IPL 2024, when he was with Rajasthan Royals, the economy rate was 9.41. During his career’s prime, the leggy spinner’s economy rate used to be slightly above 7, and for the last two seasons, it was above 9, which is very expensive from a bowler’s perspective. 

Wicket-Taking Ability: Chahal’s comeback in IPL 2025 was remarkable. After battling with personal issues, making a statement through on-field performance was not an easy task. In 14 IPL 2025 games, the spinner claimed 16 wickets. Most of the wickets he got after the initial few matches. With a best bowling figure of 4/28, Chahal created the hype but may be unable to touch his best. With a high economy rate and inconsistent performance, Chahal was sometimes vulnerable in front of opponents.

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 Reliability: There are no doubts over his ability, but the matter is about reliability. There are multiple occasions when PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer did not utilize the experienced spinner for a full 4-over quota. The tendency to leak too many runs and inconsistent performance raised questions about reliability as a regular bowler. He was like an unpredictable bowler, who can win a match for the team or can unexpectedly flop. 

Chahal's IPL 2025 bowling stats:

A highly entertaining match at the ongoing 2025 Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament. During the decisive moments of the 19^th game of the tournament, Punjab Kings (PBKS) star Praveen Dubey played an unreal innings to successfully chase down a mammoth target of 210 runs.

Dubey, who was a part of PBKS’s IPL 2025 squad, made an unbeaten 53-run innings, facing only 19 deliveries. Without smashing any boundaries, the lower-middle-order batter dealt mostly with 6s. During his 19-ball stormy innings, he hit seven 6s, which took his strike rate to 278.95 and gave the Gulbarga Mystics their thrilling victory. On match 19 of the franchise league, Gulbarga Mystics was up against a strong Mysore Warriors.

The Warriors was the favorite to win the game. As per expectations, they batted brilliantly and registered 209 for 5 batting first. Muralidhara Venkatesh missed his century only by 7 runs. He just toyed with Gulbarga bowlers to score an unbeaten 93 off 53, which was well supported by Yashovardhan Prantap’s 48-run innings. Mysore was all set for another clinical victory of the tournament until Praveen came into the crease. After losing the top 3 batters and an injured opener, Gulbarga was struggling to hold their momentum.

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Who is Praveen Dubey?

The pressure situation made Dubey’s innings more special. Experienced bowler Krishnappa Gowtham also proved very costly for the Mysore-based franchise. Gulbarga Mystics hit their winning runs in the very last delivery of the match. Dubey, who is mostly known for his bowling skills, got to play a few matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.

The Azamgarh-born played a total of 4 matches for Delhi Capitals (DC) and claimed a wicket. After spending two seasons with DC, he shifted to PBKS for IPL 2025, where he played one match and claimed one wicket, which was against his former IPL club, Delhi Capitals. Now, in the Maharaja Trophy T20, Dubey proved that he can contribute with the bat also.