The IPL cosmos has been shaken up tremendously as suddenly Glenn Maxwell finds himself without a team even being one of the league’s most vibrant all-rounders in the world’s best T20 league. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) have opted to free Glenn Maxwell from his contract before the IPL 2026 auction which raises big concerns about his participation in that season.
Maxwell was one amongst the five players who got the boot by PBKS who made the cuts along with Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, and Pravin Dubey. But it is the release of Maxwell that has garnered a lot of attention, mainly due to how dismal the Australian all-rounder’s last season went.
Glenn Maxwell released by Punjab Kings after another flop show.
In IPL 2025, the tally of runs for Maxwell was just 48 with six innings played giving an average of just eight, whereas four wickets were taken with an economy rate of 8.46 for the PBKS.
After the retentions, Aakash Chopra has fueled the speculation by indicating that there might not be a buyer for Maxwell at the IPL 2026 auction. He even suggested that the all-rounder may not even make it to the auction list.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “They have stated that they would allow Maxwell to depart. Maxwell had a price tag of ₹4.20 crore. In his place, Mitchell Owen had arrived. Mitchell Owen was kept, and Maxwell was let go. Is it the end of an era? Why do I call it an era? He has cashed in ₹101 crore from the IPL.”
Glenn Maxwell may not even have his name listed for the auction: Aakash Chopra
The cricket guru indicated that he wouldn’t be surprised if this was to be the conclusion of Maxwell’s extensive IPL journey. The Australian all-rounder has shown inconsistent form and the fact that PBKS went for Mitchell Owen instead of him has only added fuel to the fire that teams may not consider him a match-winner anymore.
The former Indian player went on to say, “I don’t get mad at anybody for getting money. I want them to make ₹100 crore in a season. The players deserve that amount of money because the league is a multi-billion-dollar one. There is a chance somebody could be curious, and no one could be curious as well. He might put his name, or he might not put his name. So that’s going to be an interesting one.”
Aakash Chopra in disbelief as Josh Inglis was let go by PBKS
On the other hand, Aakash Chopra has shown his disbelief at the Punjab Kings’ unexpected decision to let Josh Inglis go. Nevertheless, the team took this step after the head coach, Ricky Ponting, said that Inglis would be out for the whole season.
As there are just a few holes left in the PBKS line-up, the commentator opines that they would need a solid middle-order batter and someone like Cooper Connolly could be that batter. He also pointed out that PBKS might want a backup pacer and an Indian backup spinner.
In the presence of Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, and Marco Jansen, Chopra’s opinion was that the main part of the PBKS is strong, and besides, the team has enough budget to cover the rest areas of the team without making major changes for IPL 2026.
Interestingly, the Punjab Kings will come to the IPL 2026 auction with ₹11.50 crores still available in their budget. Since they already have 21 players in their squad, PBKS can bring in just 4 more, out of which only 2 can be foreign players, so they will be looking for some high-profile signings.