Australia's Josh Inglis, bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 8.6 crore in the IPL 2026 auction, will miss a part of the season due to his wedding in April. He expressed surprise at being picked despite his limited availability.
Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 8.6 crore at the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction, has confirmed that he will miss part of the 2026 season due to his wedding in early April, with the tournament scheduled from March 26 to May 31, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Surprise pick despite limited availability
Josh Inglis said he did not expect to be picked at the IPL auction due to his limited availability because of his wedding, and was surprised to initially go unsold, and only found out he had been bought later after waking up to messages.
"Well, I sort of watched a lot of it [IPL auction] and I was pushed back in the pecking order. 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. So I sort of saw my name go by unsold... the first one I was like 'alright, stuff this, I'm going to bed', and I need to switch on for tomorrow [Ashes] and then woke up to the news. I didn't know until I'd seen a few messages this morning," Inglis told ABC Sport as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Bidding war and Langer reunion
Despite his former Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Ricky Ponting indicating that Inglis would only be partially available after his release, Inglis sparked a bidding war at the auction after initially going unsold. Lucknow Super Giants eventually outbid Sunrisers Hyderabad to sign him, reuniting Inglis with Justin Langer, with whom he previously worked at Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Inglis' IPL and T20 record
In his debut IPL season, Inglis made an impact for PBKS as a disruptive batter, scoring 278 runs in 11 innings at an average of 30.88 and a strike rate of 162.57. This included a match-winning 73 off 42 balls at No. 3 against a Jasprit Bumrah-led Mumbai Indians attack in Jaipur.
Overall, Inglis has amassed 3,853 runs in 152 T20 innings, averaging 29.86 with a strike rate just below 150. (ANI)
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