Will Shreyas Iyer bid on players for PBKS in the IPL 2026 auction this time? Big update came out

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 11, 2025

Yes, according to the latest report of Cricbuzz, in the absence of former Australian captain and legendary batsman Ricky Ponting, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer can be present in the auction hall on behalf of the team and can take the responsibility of bidding on the players. Currently, Iyer is away from cricket due to injury, he got injured during the ODI match against Australia on October 25.

According to this report, the franchises had to send the names of their representatives to BCCI by December 10 and Punjab Kings have included Shreyas Iyer’s name in the list. According to IPL auction guidelines, a maximum of 8 members of a team can be present inside the auction hall and 6 members outside.

It is noteworthy that this time PBKS has released a total of 5 players, out of which the biggest name was Glenn Maxwell. The franchise had signed Maxwell for Rs 4.2 crore in IPL 2025, but he was not retained before the 2026 season. Along with them, Aaron Hardy, Josh Inglis, Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey have also been dropped from the team. Punjab Kings have a purse of Rs 11.5 crore for the auction this time and the team can buy a maximum of 4 players.

Talking about history, earlier in IPL 2018, Gautam Gambhir had participated in the auction as captain on behalf of KKR. Whereas in IPL 2024, Rishabh Pant represented the team from Delhi Capitals.

Even though Ponting will not be able to participate in the auction this time, Australia’s assistant coach Daniel Vettori will reach Abu Dhabi. Vettori is the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL and according to the report, he has got permission from Cricket Australia to travel between the Ashes series.

Apart from this, head coaches Justin Langer and Tom Moody from Lucknow Super Giants will also participate in the auction, making this auction even more star-studded.