The 2026 season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) is to start on March 26 and eight teams will compete for the title. The PSL 2026 is a much-awaited tournament and this year the competition will be more exciting because two new teams will be participating.
Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindi are the two new franchises participating in the league for the first time. Another major change in PSL 2026 this year is that the players will be picked through auction instead of the draft. Auction for PSL 2026 took place on February 11, where all the teams picked up their squads. The teams were allowed to directly sign one foreign player who was not part of the previous season.
Marnus Labuschagne to lead Hyderabad Kingsmen
Hyderabad Kingsmen have appointed Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne as their captain for the 2026 season. The franchise officially confirmed the appointment through a video on social media on March 17.
The Australian batter was signed directly by the team for an amount of INR 5.88 crore (US$210,000). He was supposed to miss the early matches as he had some Sheffield Shield commitments. However, his team Queensland were eliminated which means that he will now play the entire PSL 2026 season.
They have also signed Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and Pakistan all-rounder Saim Ayub in their team and former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie as the head coach. Hyderabad Kingsmen will play their home matches at the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad.
PSL 2026 format and Hyderabad Kingsmen squad
Hyderabad Kingsmen will play their first match of PSL 2026 against Lahore Qalandars on March 26 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Hyderabad Kingsmen have been placed in Group A along with Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, and Quetta Gladiators.
Groups B has Islamabad United, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi and Rawalpindi. Each team will play six matches during the group stage and the top two teams from both the groups will qualify for the play-offs which will include a qualifier, two eliminators and a final to be played on May 3.
Hyderabad Kingsmen Squad for PSL 2026: Marnus Labuschagne (C), Saim Ayub, Akif Javed, Maaz Sadaqat, Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khan, Mohammad Ali, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Ottniel Baartman, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Sharjeel Khan, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Saad Ali, Tayyab Arif