The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 – the 11th edition of the tournament – is a landmark one, with the league having expanded from six to eight teams, welcoming Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindiz.
Lahore Qalandar enter as the reigning champions, with Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi having led them to their third PSL title in 2025. However, PSL 2026 will only be played across two venues – Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and National Bank Stadium in Karachi – reduced from the six originally planned.
Despite having two new teams, teams will still play 10 games. The double round-robin system has been done away with. Instead, the eight teams have been divided into two groups of four. Each team will play the other teams in their group twice, and the teams in the other group once, during the league stage.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs, in a format similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Coincidentally, the PSL clashes directly with IPL 2026, beginning just two days before the start of the IPL.
The tournament kickstarts on March 26, with defending champions Lahore Qalandars taking on new franchise Hyderabad Kingsmen. The final is on May 3. The tournament will not be televised or streamed live in India.
However, in a major blow to fans across Pakistan, the PSL will be held behind closed doors. This is due to the crisis as a result of the ongoing crisis in the Gulf region. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has kept the option open of matches later in the tournament having crowds.
PSL 2026 – Squads of all teams:
Rawalpindiz: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Sam Billings, Jalat Khan, Yasir Khan, Naseem Shah, Rishad Hossain, Daryl Mitchell, Mohammad Amir, Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Dian Forrestor, Laurie Evans, Asif Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Fawad Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Cole McConchie, Saad Masood.
Multan Sultans:Ashton Turner (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Shehzad Gul, Faisal Akram, Imran Randhawa, Arafat Minhas, Sahibzada Farhan, Steve Smith, Peter Siddle, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lachlan Shaw, Delano Potgieter, Josh Philippe, Shan Masood, Momin Qamar, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Shahzad, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ismail, Atizaz Habib Khan.
Karachi Kings:David Warner (c), Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Saad Baig, Moeen Ali, Azam Khan, Haroon Arshad, Salman Ali Agha, Shahid Aziz, Mir Hamza, Adam Zampa, Mohammad Hamza Sohail, Aqib Ilyas, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Reeza Hendricks, Muhammad Waseem, Ihsanullah, Rizwanullah.
Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Naeem, Mustafizur Rahman, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Fakhar Zaman, Ubaid Shah, Haseebullah, Mohammad Farooq, Daniel Sams, Parvez Hussain Emon, Hussain Talat, Tayyab Tahir, Dunith Wellalage, Rubin Hermann, Maaz Khan, Shahab Khan, Gudakesh Motie.
Peshawar Zalmi:Babar Azam (c), Sufyan Moqim, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Subhan, James Vince, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Brian Bennett.
Hyderabad Kingsmen:Marnus Labuschagne (c), Usman Khan, Akif Javed, Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Ali, Saad Ali, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Glenn Maxwell, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Sharjeel Khan, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Tayyab Arif, Ahmed Hussain, Maheesh Theekshana.
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Salman Irshad, Andries Gous, Devon Conway, Faheem Ashraf, Mehran Mumtaz, Max Bryant, Mark Chapman, Nisar Ahmed, Mir Hamza Sajjad, Sameen Gul, Sameer Minhas, Imad Wasim, Richard Gleeson, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Dipendra Singh Airee, Mohammad Faiq, Mohammad Salman Mirza.
Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel (c), Usman Tariq, Hasan Nawaz, Shamyl Hussain, Alzarri Joseph, Rilee Rossouw, Ahmed Daniyal, Abrar Ahmed, Jahanzaib Sultan, Jahandad Khan, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Wasim Akram Jnr, Khan Zeb, Bismillah Khan, Saqib Khan, Ahsan Ali, Brett Hampton, Sam Harper, Bevon Jacobs, Ben McDermott, Tom Curran, Khalil Ahmed.
PSL 2026 – Full Schedule
March 26: Lahore Qalandars vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – 7:30 PM IST
March 27: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings – 7:30 PM IST
March 28: Peshawar Zalmi vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 3:00 PM IST
March 28: Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United – 7:30 PM IST
March 29: Quetta Gladiators vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – 3:00 PM IST
March 29: Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings – 7:30 PM IST
March 31: Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi – 7:30 PM IST
April 1: Multan Sultans vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – 7:30 PM IST
April 2: Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United – 3:00 PM IST
April 2: Rawalpindi Pindiz vs Karachi Kings – 7:30 PM IST
April 3: Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 4: Rawalpindi Pindiz vs Islamabad United – 7:30 PM IST
April 5: Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 6: Multan Sultans vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 7:30 PM IST
April 8: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Peshawar Zalmi – 7:30 PM IST
April 9: Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United – 3:00 PM IST
April 9: Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi – 7:30 PM IST
April 10: Quetta Gladiators vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 7:30 PM IST
April 11: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars – 3:00 PM IST
April 11: Karachi Kings vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – 7:30 PM IST
April 12: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Islamabad United – 7:30 PM IST
April 13: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 15: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators – 7:30 PM IST
April 16: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 3:00 PM IST
April 16: Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United – 7:30 PM IST
April 17: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators – 7:30 PM IST
April 18: Lahore Qalandars vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 7:30 PM IST
April 19: Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans – 3:00 PM IST
April 19: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators – 7:30 PM IST
April 21: Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators – 3:00 PM IST
April 21: Rawalpindi Pindiz vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 22: Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi – 3:00 PM IST
April 22: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 23: Rawalpindi Pindiz vs Islamabad United – 3:00 PM IST
April 23: Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings – 7:30 PM IST
April 24: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Islamabad United – 7:30 PM IST
April 25: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings – 3:00 PM IST
April 25: Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi – 7:30 PM IST
April 26: Hyderabad Kingsmen vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – 3:00 PM IST
April 26: Islamabad United vs Multan Sultans – 7:30 PM IST
April 28: Qualifier – 7:30 PM IST
April 29: Eliminator 1 – 7:30 PM IST
May 1: Eliminator 2 – 7:30 PM IST
May 3: Final – 7:30 PM IST