Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia has accused Josh Inglis of unprofessional behaviour after the Australian wicketkeeper was signed by a rival franchise during this week’s IPL Auction.
The 30-year-old, currently playing the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, represented Punjab during the 2025 IPL, scoring 278 runs at 30.88 for the finalists, but was released from the squad last month because “he would not be available for majority of the tournament”, according to coach Ricky Ponting.
“Josh is a terrific player. I would have loved to have had him as part of our squad going forward,” Ponting said last month.
“He wasn’t going to be available for the majority of the tournament. So for that reason, I found it pretty much impossible to be able to retain him.”
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Inglis plans to get married in April next year, informing the BCCI he would only be available for 25 per cent of the 2026 IPL, or about four games, due to wedding plans, according to CricBuzz report. Next year’s tournament is scheduled to runs from March 26 to May 31.
However, the West Australian still entered this year’s IPL Auction, admitting he didn’t think he would get snapped up due to his limited availability.
“I watched a lot of (the IPL Auction) and I was pushed back in the pecking order,” Inglis told ABC Sport this week.
“I don’t have full availability this year. I’m getting married in early April. So, I didn’t really expect to go, to be honest.”
However, a bidding war erupted for Inglis during the accelerated rounds — after he had gone to bed — with the Lucknow Super Giants securing his services ahead of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for 8.6 crore (AU$1.4 million), a massive payrise from the 2.60 crore (AU$474,000) he received last season with Punjab.
At Lucknow, he will reunite with coach Justin Langer, who had previously mentored him at Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers.
“I saw my name go by unsold (in the first round)… and I was like, ‘Alright stuff this, I’m going to bed’ and I need to switch on for tomorrow and then woke up to the news,” Inglis continued.
“I didn’t know until I’d seen a few messages this morning.”
Speaking to The Hindu after Tuesday’s auction, Wadia claimed that Inglis had only communicated his availability for next year’s IPL “45 minutes before the deadline”, hinting that Punjab had initially planned to retain the gloveman.
“Josh unfortunately, sadly, only told us at the last minute, which was not very fair given that he had been with us for a while,” Wadia said.
“I think everyone knew when the retention was coming, and we were informed by him 45 minutes before the deadline that he was getting married and needed time to relax and recuperate. He said he was going to be available only for a couple of weeks.
“We told him he should have informed us earlier. I don’t think it was very professional of him. I don’t think it is very professional of anyone if they know there is a deadline. You can’t call someone 45 minutes before and say, ‘Hey, I’m not coming,’ especially when he knew that we were retaining him.
“But I wish him all the best. He is a good player and I am sure he will do well for Australia. And let’s see whether he plays in the IPL or not. I wish him all the best because he is a fellow human being. But the manner in which he behaved was not very professional.”
Now, according to a fresh CricBuzz report, there remains potential for Inglis to postpone his honeymoon and report for IPL duties immediately after his wedding, playing more games than he initially indicated. Speaking to media after the auction, Hyderabad bowling coach Varun Aaron suggested it could be a possibility.
“You never know — people can make different decisions once the auction is done,” Aaron said.
”We thought that with the relationship (Sunrisers coach) Dan (Vettori) and him have, he could maybe convince him to play a few extra games.”
