IPL 2026: Punjab Kings owner sheds light on overseas player availability

Punjab Kings' co-owner Mohit Burman has spoken on player availability in the IPL, a talking point which has become central to the discourse surrounding the 2026 season.

Multiple players have either pulled out or joined late with international or personal commitments in mind, which has thrown a spanner in the works for multiple sides. PBKS themselves were victims of this, having to release Josh Inglis ahead of the season due to his availability for only the latter half of the season. Burman stated

that it is an issue where there needs to be absolute clarity on the player's participation. The players' absence deters season planning, which could have a significant impact on a team fares.

"It is a sensitive issue because international cricket calendars are extremely crowded, and players also have commitments to their national boards. But ideally, when a player commits to a franchise, there should be as much clarity as possible around availability. From a franchise perspective, planning becomes difficult when key players are unavailable for significant portions of the tournament despite being major auction investments," Burman told reporters.

The Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins all joined their teams late after being directed by Cricket Australia with concerns of workload management. The three were also recovering from significant injuries. Burman further added that fans expect to see marquee players for their teams, and in situations like this, there should be clearer communication and collaboration between all concerned parties.

"Fans also expect to see marquee players from the start of the season. At the same time, solutions have to come through collaboration rather than confrontation. The BCCI, franchises, players and international boards all need to align schedules better and create clearer commitments," he stated.

The franchise finished the league stage with 15 points. They went the first half of the season unbeaten, before a six-game losing streak derailed their playoff hopes. They finished the season with a win over the Lucknow Super Giants, courtesy of skipper Shreyas Iyer's first IPL century. This win had kept their hopes alive, but Rajasthan Royals got ahead in the race by beating Mumbai Indians to make it to the top four.