Punjab Kings pick all-rounder Dwarshuis for Rs 4.4 crore

Making an important addition to their kitty, last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) runners-up Punjab Kings took advantage of the low purse available and included two Australians to their squad, during the mini-auction for the upcoming season of the IPL, held in Abu Dhabi today.

Punjab Kings bagged 31-year-old Australian Ben Dwarshuis for a whopping bid for Rs 4.40 crore, and also 22-year-old Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly for Rs 3 crore. While Dwarshuis carried a reserve price of Rs 1 crore, Connolly was available on the reserve price of Rs 2 crore. Both left-handed all-rounders represent Australia in different formats, and known for their fast approach. The franchisee also successfully bid for uncapped Indian players Pravin Dubey and Vishal Nishad for their respective base prices of Rs 30 lakh each.

Punjab Kings Captain Shreyas Iyer shared insights into the team’s mind-set, preparation, and approach to decision-making while speaking on ‘Match Centre Live Auction 2026’. He offered a glimpse into how the franchise is navigating the high-stakes auction process. “There is no pressure as such. We had several meetings before coming here, and the way we have planned and prepared, everyone feels quite relaxed. We know exactly what we want,” he said.

On the opening day of auction, Punjab Kings raised their bid only for Connolly, as the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh based franchisee, was still left with a funds purse of Rs 3.50 crore- after their three successful bids including two foreigner cricketers.

“Analytical data definitely plays a big role. We have two analysts in our team, and the experience and depth of information they provide is immense. I don’t know everything that’s on the table yet, but once I sit down, I’ll get a clearer picture. I’m sure things are already buzzing. I can see it on the screen, and I’m really looking forward to the experience and what it has to offer,” said Iyer before the auction.

The Punjab Kings have decided to retain Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Vishnu Vinod and Prabhsimran Singh. The franchisee decided to release Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen and Praveen Dubey.

Punjab’s Salil signed

for Rs 1.5 crore

Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Punjab wicketkeeper-batter Salil Arora for Rs 1.50 crore against his base price of Rs 30 lakh. The 23-year-old batter from Amritsar scored unbeaten 125 for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Jharkhand and remained unbeaten against Andhra.