The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is all set to begin on March 26, 2026. The tournament, which will have 44 matches, will run from March 26 to May 3, 2026. The major talking point this season is the expansion from six to eight teams, with two new franchises being introduced. The new franchises are Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi Pindiz. The competition will follow a revised two-group format, where teams play within their groups and across groups before the top four advance to the playoffs.
The league, which was originally planned across multiple cities, will now be played in only two cities, with the PCB recently revising logistics due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Matches will now be held primarily in Lahore and Karachi, with the opening match and final scheduled in Lahore.
Notably, the initial phase of the tournament will be played behind closed doors, with no spectators allowed. The opening ceremony has also been cancelled as part of cost-cutting and security measures. There will be international stars such as Steve Smith, Moeen Ali, and Devon Conway registering their presence. Lahore Qalandars will head into the tournament as defending champions, taking on Hyderabad Kingsmen in the tournament opener.
The eight teams participating in the tournament are - Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Hyderabad Kingsmen, Islamabad United, Sialkot Stallions, Peshawar Zalmi, Rawalpindi Pindiz.
All squads:
Islamabad United: Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan (c), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Imad Wasim, Max Bryant, Sahibzada Farhan, Haider Ali, Andries Gous (wk), Salman Irshad, Mehran Mumtaz, Shamar Joseph, Rachin Ravindra, Mohammad Nawaz, Mir Hamza, Sameen Gul, Dipendra Singh Airee
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Aaron Hardie, Sufyan Muqeem, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, James Vince, Abdul Samad, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Haris (wk), Ali Raza, Aamir Jamal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdul Subhan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Maaz Sadaqat, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali
Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed, Khawaja Nafay (wk), Spencer Johnson, Usman Tariq, Rilee Rossouw, Tom Curran, Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, Faizan Akram, Ben McDermott, Saud Shakeel, Khanzada, Bismillah Khan (wk), Sajid Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Waqar Salamkheil, Sean Abbott, Bevon Jacobs
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Usama Mir, Sikandar Raza, Zaman Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Hussain Talat, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Naeem, Mohammad Farooq, Rishad Hossain, Asif Afridi, Tayyab Tahir
Sialkot Stallions: Steve Smith, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Ashton Turner, Salman Mirza, Peter Siddle, Josh Philippe, Ahmed Daniyal, Tabraiz Shamsi, Momin Qamar, Saad Masood, Shan Masood, Jahanzeb Sultan, Lachlan Shaw, Delano Potgieter, Mohammad Waqas Afzar
Karachi Kings: David Warner, Moeen Ali, Shan Masood, Hasan Ali, Adam Zampa, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Mir Hamza, Johnson Charles, Mohammad Waseem, Ihsanullah, Shahid Aziz, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, M. Hamza Sohail, Saad Baig, Aaqib Ilyas, Rizwanullah
Rawalpindi Pindiz: Naseem Shah, Daryl Mitchell, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Amir, Sam Billings (wk), Rishad Hossain, Asif Afridi, Zaman Khan, Laurie Evans, Amad Butt, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Yasir Khan, Dan Forrester, Fawad Ali, M. Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan
Hyderabad Kingsmen: Saim Ayub, Mansur Usman, Usman Khan (wk), Riley Meredith, Maaz Sadaqat, Kusal Perera (wk), Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Ali, Akif Javed, Hasan Khan, Shan Masood, Ottneil Baartman, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Mohammad Tayyab Arif