5 PBKS Players Who Could Be Released at IPL 2027 Auction
Punjab Kings entered IPL 2026 as defending runners-up, and for most of the season, they looked every bit like genuine title contenders. Last year’s finalists started the season with six straight wins and led the points table for a long stretch. But the finish was cruel. PBKS ended the league stage fifth with 15 points and a net run rate of +0.309, and their playoff hopes were ended on the final matchday of the league phase, when Rajasthan Royals’ win over Mumbai Indians eliminated both PBKS and Kolkata Knight Riders from the race.
That’s a brutal way for a team with genuine title ambitions to end a season — not through their own collapse, but through results elsewhere going against them after they’d already done the hard work earlier in the campaign. Like Rajasthan’s situation, this is not a release list born out of a broken squad. Instead, these players could join the wider list of IPL 2027 released players as Punjab look to improve a few weaker areas. It’s about identifying the players who didn’t contribute enough to that strong start, and the fringe pieces PBKS may look to replace as they take one more run at a maiden IPL title in 2027.
5 Punjab Kings Players Who Could Be Released Before IPL 2027
| Player | Role | Matches | Key Stat | Economy/SR | Release Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Stoinis | All-rounder | 13 | 216 runs, 2 wickets | SR 180.00 / Econ 12.51 | Expensive overseas slot, costly with the ball |
| Nehal Wadhera | Batter | 8 | 65 runs, avg 10.83 | SR 114.03 | Lost form and lost his XI spot |
| Lockie Ferguson | Bowler | Missed first 7 matches; minimal game time overall | — | — | Limited availability, unclear season output |
| Ben Dwarshuis | Bowler | Debuted May 11, very late in the season | — | — | Most expensive PBKS buy, barely used |
| Vishnu Vinod | Batter (WK) | 1 | 15* runs | SR 187.50 | Single appearance, no real opportunity |
1. Marcus Stoinis – 216 runs & 2 wickets in 2026
The Australian all-rounder has been a fixture of PBKS’s middle order and death-overs bowling attack for several seasons, valued for his ability to contribute with both bat and ball in an overseas slot. IPL 2026 saw his returns slip on both fronts.
Marcus Stoinis IPL 2026 Stats:
Batting
- Matches: 13
- Innings: 9
- Runs: 216
- Batting average: 36.00
- Strike rate: 180.00
- Highest score: 62*
Bowling
- Matches: 13
- Wickets: 2
- Bowling average: 49.00
- Economy rate: 12.51
- Best figures: 1/26
Stoinis’s batting numbers are genuinely solid — a strike rate of 180 and an average of 36 are useful returns from a finisher role. The concern is the bowling, where an economy rate above 12.5 and just two wickets across 13 matches mean he wasn’t offering the all-round value PBKS need from an overseas pick. With Ben Dwarshuis, Marco Jansen, and Cooper Connolly all occupying overseas slots with stronger all-round profiles, Stoinis’s expensive, batting-only contribution becomes harder to justify holding onto.
Why he could be released:
His batting was fine, but his bowling cost the team a lot of runs without taking many wickets. When an overseas all-rounder isn’t contributing much with the ball, that slot starts to look better used elsewhere.
2. Nehal Wadhera – 65 runs in 2026
A promising young Indian batter who’s had moments of real impact in PBKS colours, Wadhera came into IPL 2026 hoping to cement a regular top or middle-order role. The numbers tell a difficult story.
Nehal Wadhera IPL 2026 Stats:
- Matches: 8
- Innings: 6
- Runs: 65
- Batting average: 10.83
- Strike rate: 114.03
- Highest score: 25
- Fifties: 0
An average of 10.83 and a strike rate barely above 114 are well below what PBKS need from a young batter competing for a regular spot in a deep batting lineup. With only 8 matches across the season, Wadhera also clearly lost his place in the XI at some point, and didn’t do enough in the chances he did get to win it back.
Why he could be released:
He didn’t score enough runs, and he wasn’t scoring them quickly either. With PBKS’s batting depth, that combination makes it tough to hold a regular spot.
3. Lockie Ferguson – Missed first 7 matches, limited 2026 game time
Punjab retained the New Zealand pacer at ₹2 crore for IPL 2026, valuing his ability to consistently clock above 150 kph as a genuine point of difference in their pace attack. His season was disrupted before it even began.
- PBKS confirmed Ferguson would miss the first seven matches of the season due to paternity leave, having also managed a calf injury picked up in December 2025
- He was expected to link up with the squad for the “latter stages” of the tournament
- A clean, verified IPL 2026-only stat line for his eventual appearances could not be confirmed with confidence
What is clear is that Ferguson missed a significant chunk of PBKS’s season by design, on top of carrying injury concerns into the year, and he doesn’t appear in IPL 2026’s wicket-taking charts at any meaningful volume. For a bowler retained specifically because he’s a rare genuine 150kph-plus option, that level of unavailability is difficult for any franchise to plan around two seasons running, especially with Ben Dwarshuis now also in the building as overseas pace cover.
Why he could be released:
He missed a big chunk of the season for personal reasons on top of injury concerns, and PBKS already have other fast-bowling options. Two seasons of limited availability makes him a real risk going into another year.
4. Ben Dwarshuis – IPL debut May 11, 2026
PBKS made Dwarshuis their most expensive signing of the IPL 2026 mini-auction at ₹4.40 crore, bringing him in largely as cover for Ferguson’s expected absence and as a left-arm pace option with a strong global T20 record.
- He made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings against Delhi Capitals on May 11, 2026 — very late in the league phase
- This was his first-ever IPL appearance despite having been part of IPL squads in 2018 and 2021 without playing a match
- His limited window in the XI came right at the business end of the season, leaving little time to fully justify a ₹4.40 crore price tag
Being PBKS’s most expensive buy of the auction and only debuting with a handful of matches left in the league phase is a tough combination to defend. Through no real fault of his own, Dwarshuis simply didn’t get the volume of opportunity a signing at that price would usually demand.
Why he could be released:
He was Punjab’s most expensive buy of the auction, but he barely played because he was originally signed as backup. At that price, PBKS will want to see a lot more game time before backing him again.
5. Vishnu Vinod – 15* runs in 1 match (2026)
The wicketkeeper-batter offered PBKS depth behind Prabhsimran Singh through IPL 2026, but the chance to show what he could do never really materialised.
Nehal Wadhera IPL 2026 Stats:
- Matches: 1
- Innings: 1
- Runs: 15 not out
- Strike rate: 187.50
A single innings, however promising the strike rate looks in isolation, is far too small a sample to build a case either way. The bigger issue for Vinod is opportunity: with Prabhsimran Singh entrenched as the first-choice gloveman and opener, Vinod’s path to regular cricket at PBKS looks limited heading into another season.
Why he could be released:
He barely got a game all season. With Prabhsimran firmly established as the main wicketkeeper, there’s not much of a path to regular cricket for Vinod at Punjab right now.
Two More Names to Watch
Harnoor Pannu – No recorded 2026 output. Part of PBKS’s squad throughout IPL 2026 but recorded no batting or bowling output across the season, suggesting he didn’t get a single opportunity in the XI. A talented top-order batter with strong domestic credentials, including a title-winning role in India’s 2022 U19 World Cup campaign, Pannu’s complete lack of game time makes his squad spot difficult to assess, let alone defend, heading into 2027.
Pravin Dubey – No recorded 2026 output. Re-signed at his base price of ₹30 lakh for IPL 2026, continuing his role as Indian spin depth behind Yuzvendra Chahal and Harpreet Brar. Like Pannu, there’s no recorded IPL 2026 output for Dubey, and his modest career numbers even before this season (just a handful of IPL wickets across several seasons at three different franchises) make him a low-cost, low-risk squad member rather than a frontline release concern.
Why they’re borderline cases, in simple terms: Neither player got a real chance to show what they can do this season. That makes them hard to judge fairly, but it also means PBKS may use the auction to bring in players who can offer more certainty in those depth roles.
Where This Leaves Punjab Kings
What makes this list different from a typical “underperforming squad” piece is the same thing that separates RR’s situation from DC’s: PBKS didn’t have a bad season. They led the table for large stretches, won six matches in a row to start the campaign, and were eliminated only on the final day, by results outside their control. The names above reflect specific, narrow problems, an overseas all-rounder whose bowling cost too much, a young batter who lost form and his spot, two bowlers who simply weren’t available enough, and fringe squad members who never got a real look, rather than a team in genuine crisis.
That actually raises the stakes for PBKS’s IPL 2027 auction approach. A side that’s now reached one final and missed the playoffs on the last day in consecutive campaigns has shown it has the core to compete; what’s missing are the small margins.Expect Punjab to use these releases to improve their squad without disturbing the Indian core led by Shreyas Iyer, who features in the complete IPL 2026 captains list. Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh should also remain important parts of their plans.
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FAQS❓
Based on IPL 2026 performance, playing time, and availability, the five players most likely to be in PBKS’s release conversation are Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Dwarshuis, and Vishnu Vinod, with Harnoor Pannu and Pravin Dubey as borderline names worth watching.
No — PBKS actually started strongly, winning their first six matches and leading the points table for a long stretch. They ultimately finished fifth with 15 points, missing the playoffs only on the final matchday when Rajasthan Royals’ win over Mumbai Indians eliminated them.
Stoinis scored 216 runs at a strong strike rate of 180.00, but his bowling cost the team heavily — just 2 wickets from 13 matches at an economy rate of 12.51. With other overseas all-rounders in the squad offering better balance, his bowling returns make his expensive overseas slot harder to justify.
Dwarshuis was signed for ₹4.40 crore, PBKS’s biggest spend of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, but didn’t make his IPL debut until May 11, 2026, very late in the league phase. At that price, a single late-season cameo isn’t enough return to guarantee his spot for IPL 2027.
Wadhera played 8 matches and managed just 65 runs at a batting average of 10.83 and a strike rate of 114.03, with no fifties — numbers well below what’s needed to hold a regular spot in PBKS’s deep batting lineup.
