Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan reflected on which players Punjab Kings (PBKS) should release and retain ahead of the IPL 2026 retention deadline. PBKS played the final last year but failed to win the trophy.Irfan Pathan reckoned that Punjab must look to release Australian all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell. Stoinis was acquired for ₹11 crore while Maxwell was purchased for ₹4.2 crore. However, the two big names failed to deliver as per expectations and their price tags."Un 11 crore ko kya Stoinis ne uthara tha maidan mai performance ke zariye? 160 run banaye the. Economy bhi lagbagh 12 ke upar tha. Apne place ko justify nahi kiya. Maxwell, run nahi banaye. Bohot zyada ballebaazi mai last do saal se kuch dekhne ko mila nahi aur pichla saal bhi unka kuch khaas nahi tha injury se pehle," he said on Star Sports.(Did Stoinis bring the worth of those 11 crores on the ground through performance? He scoreed 160 runs. His economy was also over 12 almost. He did not justify his place. Maxwell did not score runs. In the last two years we have not seen much in his batting and even his previous season was not great before injury) View this post on Instagram Instagram PostStoinis scored 160 runs from 11 innings and bagged just one wicket from nine innings at an economy of 12.35. On the other hand, Maxwell struggled with the bat and managed just 48 runs from six innings. He picked up four wickets at an economy of 8.46.Irfan Pathan highlighted that PBKS could get ₹15 crore by releasing these two going into the auction. He stated that the likes of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, skipper Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, and Shashank Singh, among others, would certainly be retained.Irfan Pathan on what areas PBKS should focus at the IPL 2026 auctionIrfan Pathan also outlined the areas PBKS would have to focus on at the IPL 2026 auction. He reflected that they would have to look for a backup spinner for Yuzvendra Chahal and a backup Indian pacer for Arshdeep Singh."Two things Punjab will have to focus on going into the auction. One, a backup spinner for Chahal. You will have to keep a backup spinner. Chahal is a match-winner, but it is better if you have someone behind him to groom as well. Second, a backup for Arshdeep. He plays cricket the whole year and is an amazing player. It is not easy to replace him but it will be better if they have a backup Indian pacer for him," he explained.Chahal and Arshdeep played major roles in PBKS reaching the final last season. Chahal bagged 16 wickets while Arshdeep picked up 21. Punjab had a stellar campaign as they finished at the top of the table after the league stage.Unfortunately, they lost the final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six wickets and fell short of a maiden IPL title. They will be keen to come back strong and go the distance in IPL 2026.