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The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) finalists, Punjab Kings (PBKS), are likely to release at least seven players ahead of the 2026 season auction in December, with the headlining name being Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, as per ESPNCricinfo. The veteran endured a forgettable season on his homecoming to the franchise before an injury ruled him out of the competition.
In the 2025 IPL, Maxwell's bat failed to fire, scoring just 48 runs in six innings, including four single-digit scores and a best score of 30. He also picked just four wickets at an average of 27.5. Having been associated with PBKS previously from 2014-17, he failed to reach anywhere near his early hype and numbers for PBKS, having scored 552 runs in 16 matches with four fifties on a strike rate of over 187 in his debut season for the franchise, which also saw them end up as runners-up to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After his injury, fellow Aussie Mitch Owen, who played a crucial role in his side Hobart Hurricanes' maiden Big Bash League (BBL) triumph with a chart-topping 452 runs at a strike rate of 203.60 and two centuries, including one in the final, was roped in as a replacement. Owen's only appearance last season saw him score a two-ball duck. However, the batting all-rounder, who has made 163 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 158.25, including a fifty in Aussie colours as a part of the T20I set-up, is amongst the players who will likely be retained. He was picked at his base price of Rs 3 crores last year. Maxwell has, moreover, retired from the ODI format, bringing an end to a glorious career back in June. He was brought back to PBKS for Rs 4.2 crores ahead of the 2025 season. This year in T20Is, Maxwell has scored 171 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 169.30, with a best score of 62, his solitary fifty, which came against South Africa. The other players that PBKS could release are: Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie, New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson, Indian bowler Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey, and Vishnu Vinod. Jamieson was the replacement for his injured compatriot Lockie Ferguson last season and scalped five wickets in four matches. Dubey got to play just one game while the rest failed to get any game time. (ANI)
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