Josh Inglis, an Australian wicketkeeper, was acquired by LSG for ₹8.60 crores at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Initially, the player was expected to be part of a total of 4 games but he seems to have confirmed his participation for the full IPL season.
Punjab Kings, under Ricky Ponting’s leadership, opted to release Inglis prior to the IPL 2026 auction because he would not be available for the entire season.
Despite Inglis’s significant contributions in the latter stage of IPL 2025, PBKS’s management believed that the Australian keeper would miss a considerable part of the next tournament.
Was Josh Inglis a player that deceived PBKS?
To put it another way, it was the expectation that Josh Inglis would be involved only in four matches in IPL 2026. Ricky Ponting even publicly admitted that the wicketkeeper’s limited availability was a major factor in the release decision, as PBKS strived to create space for overseas players during the auction.
But the situation was turned upside down during the auction. Inglis started a bidding war and eventually, the Lucknow Super Giants secured him for ₹8.60 crores. The initial high bid raised many eyebrows.
Nevertheless, Shashwat Goenka, an official with LSG, later stated that the team intended to pursue Livingstone but got short of funds as he was sold for ₹13 crores.
Subsequently, LSG opted to sign Josh Inglis for ₹8.60 crores because, it seems, head coach Justin Langer had assured the wicket-keeper’s availability for the entire IPL 2026 season.
The revelation has created a buzz, particularly among PBKS fans, as it goes against the information which led to his release.
However, Inglis has not yet confirmed this change, and his participation in the IPL 2026 season is still uncertain.
“We were about to get Livingstone, but our budget simply was not able to cope with it. Langer assured us that Inglis would be with us all through the season, hence at the end, we put our bid for him,” Shashwat Goenka narrated to the channel, Star Sports.
LSG bring in Nortje, Hasaranga
On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants went for Wanindu Hasaranga and Anrich Nortje in the IPL 2026 auction, each for ₹2 crores. They also made some domestic purchases like fast bowler Naman Tiwari and young batsman Akshat Raghuvanshi who they see as future talents.
Punjab Kings had a rather silent day, however. They had their main players already and just added Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, and Vishal Nishad to their roster.
