Head coach Ricky Ponting has explained why Punjab Kings (PBKS) have decided not to retain Glenn Maxwell for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. During the retention process on Saturday 15 November, the Kings also released Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey along with Maxwell.
In 2025, PBKS spent 4.2 million rupees on the Victorian all-rounder, but Maxwell struggled, scoring just 48 runs in six innings at an average of 8 and a strike rate of 97.95. Ponting, who took over as the head coach of PBKS last season, said the team could not get the best out of Maxwell and he would not be part of their starting XI for the upcoming season.
“I love Glenn and what he brings to the game. Unfortunately we didn’t get the best out of him last year,” Ponting told Star Sports.
“Looking at this season, we didn’t feel he was part of our starting line-up, so we decided to release him,” Ponting added.
IPL 2026 Retention Update
Maxwell’s IPL career has been a mixture of explosive performances and inconsistency. Over 13 seasons, he scored 2,819 runs at a strike rate of 155.15. His standout season was 2014 with 552 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 187.8, while he also did well in 2021 scoring 513 runs at an average of 42.75. However, his 2024 season was a disappointment, yielding just 52 runs from nine innings at an average of 5.78. In his last 15 IPL innings, Maxwell scored just 100 runs at an average of 6.67, with a highest score of 30.
The Kings enjoyed a tremendous IPL season, finishing second. They were top of the points table but their campaign ended in a loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Punjab Kings released playersCast: Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey
Punjab Kings retained the players: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Shashnk Singh, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Musheer Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Amatullah Omarzai, Suryansh Yadge, Vshydeeph, Swensha Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar.
The remaining wallet – Rs.11.5 crores
Remaining slots – 4
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
November 15, 2025
