"Hard to understand what they are thinking" - Ex-CSK spinner warns teams going for Glenn Maxwell in IPL 2026 auction

With the IPL 2026 auction only a month away, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has warned teams about Glenn Maxwell. The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested that he would be surprised if teams still bid for the Aussie all-rounder despite his consistently poor performances.

Having been released by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after IPL 2024 for his 52 runs in 10 games, the Punjab Kings had shelled out ₹4.2 crore ahead of the 2025 edition. However, the Victorian returned with only 48 runs in his seven outings before suffering an injury

Speaking in the latest video on his YouTube channel 'Harbhajan Turbanator Singh,' the 45-year-old reflected on the Punjab Kings and the Delhi Capitals' releases and said (4:34):

"Punjab Kings released Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, and Glenn Maxwell. If IPL teams still pick Maxwell, it’s hard to understand what they are thinking. Kuldeep Sen was released, as was Praveen Dubey. Delhi Capitals released Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Manvanth Kumar and Mohit Sharma. They traded out Donovan Ferreira."

Even with a misfiring Maxwell, who played only seven games, the Punjab Kings reached the final. However, they lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the decider at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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"KKR would have a good purse amount" - Harbhajan Singh on IPL 2026 auction

Andre Russell was released in a shocking move by KKR. (Credits: Getty)

In the same video, Harbhajan expressed surprise at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) releasing some of the big names, such as Andre Russell and Moeen Ali. He elaborated:

"KKR released some big names too – Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali. These are massive names. The other players released are Luvnit Sisodia, Spencer Johnson, Anrich Nortje and Chetan Sakariya. KKR would have a good purse amount as players like Russell and Iyer were expensive."

The Knight Riders entered IPL 2025 as the defending champions but struggled almost throughout the season, failing to gain any momentum. Nevertheless, Ajinkya Rahane is likely to retain his captaincy duty.