Lahore Qalandar are the defending champions, with Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi set to lead the team. Lahore have win three PSL titles. The PSL 2026 will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and National Bank Stadium in Karachi after the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to reduce the venues from six to two.

All 10 franchises will compete in 10 matches each. PCB has divided eight teams into two groups of four, with each franchise taking on the other teams in their group twice. They will face other teams in another group once during the league stage of the tournament.

The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs, which is similar to the Indian Premier League (IPL). The PSL is clashing with IPL 2026, starting two days before the start of the 19th season.

Lahore Qalandars will take on Hyderabad Kingsmen in the first match of the new season. The final is scheduled on May 3, but the matches will not be televised or streamed in India.

This year's PSL will be held behind closed doors, with no fans allowed due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi is ready to allow the fans if the situation improves.

PSL 2026 - Squads of eight franchises

Multan Sultans: Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Shahzad, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ismail, Atizaz Habib Khan, 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

Karachi Kings: Mohammad Hamza Sohail, Aqib Ilyas, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Reeza Hendricks, Muhammad Waseem, Ihsanullah, Rizwanullah, 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

Rawalpindiz: Asif Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Fawad Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Cole McConchie, Saad Masood, 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

Peshawar Zalmi: Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Brian Bennett, Babar Azam (c), Sufyan Moqim, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Subhan, James Vince

Lahore Qalandars: Mohammad Farooq, Daniel Sams, Parvez Hussain Emon, Hussain Talat, Tayyab Tahir, Dunith Wellalage, Rubin Hermann, Maaz Khan, Shahab Khan, Gudakesh Motie, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Naeem, Mustafizur Rahman, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Fakhar Zaman, Ubaid Shah, Haseebullah

Islamabad United: Sameer Minhas, Imad Wasim, Richard Gleeson, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Dipendra Singh Airee, Mohammad Faiq, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan (c), Salman Irshad, Andries Gous, Devon Conway, Faheem Ashraf, Mehran Mumtaz, Max Bryant, Mark Chapman, Nisar Ahmed, Mir Hamza Sajjad, Sameen Gul

Quetta Gladiators: 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, Saud Shakeel (c), Usman Tariq, Hasan Nawaz, Shamyl Hussain, Alzarri Joseph, Rilee Rossouw, Ahmed Daniyal, Abrar Ahmed, Jahanzaib Sultan, Jahandad Khan

Hyderabad Kingsmen: Glenn Maxwell, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Sharjeel Khan, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Tayyab Arif, Ahmed Hussain, Maheesh Theekshana, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Usman Khan, Akif Javed, Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Ali, Saad Ali, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Shayan Jahangir

PSL 2026 - Complete 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