2026 Pakistan Super League
Official logo of HBL PSL 11[a] | |
| Dates | 26 March – 3 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Group round robin and playoffs |
| Host | Pakistan |
| Participants | 8 |
| Matches | 44 |
| Official website | psl-t20.com |
The 2026 Pakistan Super League (branded as HBL PSL 11) will be the eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League, a professional franchise Twenty20 cricket league organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The edition marks the league's expansion from six to eight franchises, following the auction for new teams.
With a total of 44 matches, it is scheduled to take place from 26 March to 3 May 2026 across two cities of Pakistan, with Walee Technologies hosting the broadcast.
Background
After the conclusion of the tenth season in 2025, the initial ten-year franchise agreements for the six original teams expired. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) engaged Ernst & Young to conduct a valuation of the league's assets to set new terms for the next decade (2026–2035).[1] In October 2025, HBL Pakistan renewed its title sponsorship for PSL for the next two years.[2]
In November 2025, five of then existing six franchises successfully renewed their contracts under the new financial model except Multan Sultans.[3] As part of the PCB's plan to expand the league from six to eight teams, an auction for two new franchises was held on 8 January 2026. Six cities were shortlisted for consideration: Faisalabad, Gilgit, Hyderabad, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi and Sialkot. Following the auction, Hyderabad Kingsmen and Sialkot were selected as the seventh and eighth teams, with ownership rights acquired by FKS Group and OZ Developers respectively.[4]
Then Multan Sultans franchise owner Ali Tareen announced that he would not renew his agreement with the PCB, citing financial losses and disagreements regarding the league's management.[5] Thus, PCB decided to resale the franchise through an auction on 9 February 2026,[6] where Walee Technologies acquired it and rebranded the identity to Rawalpindiz after relocating. Later, Sialkot owners sold the franchise to CD Ventures who rebranded and brought back Multan Sultans.[7][8]
Broadcast rights
In February 2026, PCB held three bids for broadcasting rights, however, the rights for India were withheld. Walee Technologies, who are also the owners of the Rawalpindiz franchise, won all bids, including the international rights with a 149 percent increase in value as compared to the previous rights cycle, although the official financial figures were not disclosed. Also, the local broadcasting and streaming rights were sold for Rs. 2,611 crore for a four-year period.[9][10][11][12]
Trophy
The trophy for the season is named Infinity. Designed by Hanif Jewelers, it is handcrafted by 18 artisans. It features a circular base with eight emerald-cut jewels representing eight teams. It has two golden curved arms rising to hold a cresent and a star along with hundreds of small crystals. It was revealed on 11 March at National Bank Stadium, Karachi, and will be touring across the country.[13][14][15]
Prize money
The champions will receive US$500,000, while the runner-up team will receive US$300,000. Moreover, a US$200,000 reward will be awarded to the "best franchise contributing towards cricket development".[16]
Teams and squads
The player auction for the eleventh season was held on 11 February 2026 in Lahore Pakistan. It was the first time in PSL history that players were selected through an auction system, replacing the draft method that had been used since the league began in 2016. Team purse was capped at Rs. 45 crore and was allowed to be extended to Rs. 50.5 crore to allow direct signing of one foreign player who had not featured in previous season. Franchises were allowed to retain up to four players, one in each category before the auction; new franchises were allowed to sign four players to match the retentions of the other six franchises.[17] 888 players including local and foreign registered for the auction at 4 different base prices.[18]
Rawalpindiz signed Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah for Rs. 8.65 crore, making him the most expensive player in the auction. Additionally, they secured New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell for Rs. 8 crore, the most expensive overseas signing.[19] Player transfer window was opened from 12 March to 18 March allowing franchises to trade players. Multan Sultans' salary cap was increased by Rs. 1.2 crore to allow two additional signings making the full squad to 22 players.[20]
Venues
The PCB revealed the venue details on 10 March 2026. Lahore will be hosting the opening match as well as the final.[21] Tickets were made available from 17 March in partnership with TCS.[22]
Initially the tournament was scheduled to be held across six cities, but due to the economic impact of the 2026 Iran war, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and PCB announced on 22 March that the tournament would be played in only two cities, Lahore and Karachi, temporarily behind closed doors to reduce movement to save fuel. The opening ceremony was also cancelled.[23][24]
Venues:
Match officials
On 23 March 2026, the PCB announced the list of fifteen umpires and eight match referees for the league stage.[25] They include four members of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, nine of the PCB domestic umpires. Roshan Mahanama, a regular match referee in the PSL since 2017, will return to extend his record of 71 matches in the tournament. Richie Richardson will make his PSL debut as match referee in this season while Allahudien Palekar and Sharfuddoula will take the field as umpires for the first time in PSL. Alex Wharf and Ahsan Raza will serve as the on-field umpires for the opening match with Asif Yaqoob acting as the television umpire and Tariq Rasheed as the fourth umpire.[26]
Match referees
- Richie Richardson
- Roshan Mahanama
- Ali Naqvi
- Kamran Chaudhary
- Bilal Khilji
- Aleem Moosa
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Sohail Idrees
Umpires
- Ahsan Raza
- Chris Gaffaney
- Sharfuddoula Saikat
- Allahudien Paleker
- Alex Wharf
- Chris Brown
- Asif Yaqoob
- Rashid Riaz
- Faisal Afridi
- Zulfiqar Jan
- Nasir Hussain
- Abdul Muqeet
- Alay Haider
- Tariq Rasheed
- Imran Javed
League stage
Format
Due to the expansion to eight teams, this edition will be played under a revised format with a total of 44 matches, replacing the double round-robin format used in previous editions. The teams will be divided into two groups of four; each team will play twice against the other teams in its group and once against each team in the opposite group, resulting in a total of ten league-stage matches per team. The top four teams in the overall standings will qualify for the playoffs, which will be played under the page playoff system to determine the champion.[27][28]
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyderabad Kingsmen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Islamabad United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Karachi Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Lahore Qalandars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Multan Sultans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | Rawalpindiz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Peshawar Zalmi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Quetta Gladiators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
After league stage teams will advance to the Playoffs.
Advanced to Qualifier
Advanced to Eliminator 1
League summary
- Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams.
- Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match.
Fixtures
The schedule was planned following the completion of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which was held during February and March.[29] The PCB announced a revised schedule on 22 March 2026.[24]
Playoffs
Bracket
| Qualifier | Eliminator 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 28 April 2026 | 03 May 2026 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | TBD | QW | Winner of Qualifier | ||||||||||
| 2 | TBD | 01 May 2026 | E2W | Winner of Eliminator 2 | |||||||||
| QL | TBD | ||||||||||||
| Eliminator 1 | E1W | TBD | |||||||||||
| 29 April 2026 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | TBD | ||||||||||||
| 4 | TBD | ||||||||||||
- Source:[27]
Qualifier
Eliminator 1
Eliminator 2
Final
Footnotes
References
- ^ Saleem Khaliq (27 August 2025). "PSL initiates asset valuation process". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "Franchise owners will have right to match new team valuation or walk away, says PSL CEO Salman Naseer". Dawn. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ "Ali Tareen opts not to extend Multan Sultans' PSL contract". Geo News. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Zulfiqar Baig (8 January 2026). "Sialkot, Hyderabad enter HBL PSL after Rs3.6b auction". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ "Ali Tareen bows out as Multan Sultans owner after franchise denied renewal". Dawn. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ^ Mohammad Yaqoob (10 February 2026). "Multan Sultans sold for record price but owners opt for Rawalpindi rebrand". Dawn. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Mohammad Yaqoob (4 March 2026). "Multan Sultans return to PSL at Sialkot's expense". Dawn. Archived from the original on 7 March 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ فیضان لاکھانی (17 March 2026). "ٹیم 'پنڈیز' نے سوشل میڈیا اکاؤنٹس پر نام 'راولپنڈیز' کردیا". Daily Jang. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "PCB withholds PSL 11 broadcast rights in India". Geo News. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "Sale of media rights for PSL 11 fetches massive increase". Dawn. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ Saleem Khaliq (28 February 2026). "PCB secures biggest media rights deal for HBL PSL". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ "PSL broadcast rights sold for Rs26.11 bn". Dawn. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ "PCB unveils 'Infinity Trophy' ahead of HBL PSL XI". The Express Tribune. 11 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ "PSL 11 trophy unveiled as league enters new era". Dawn. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ Muhammad Saleem (23 March 2026). "HBL-PSL 'Infinity' Trophy tour reaches Lahore". Business Recorder. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ Sohail Imran (21 November 2025). "Mohsin Naqvi announces revised prize money for next PSL edition". Geo News. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "PCB announces HBL PSL XI players auction on Feb 11". The Express Tribune. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
- ^ "PSL 2026 Auction: Full List Of Players With Base Price For Pakistan Super League Auction". Wisden. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Asher Butt (12 February 2026). "Steve Smith tops PSL 11 auction as Sialkot Stallionz secure record signing". The News. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Alam, Sher (12 March 2026). "Multan Sultans Given Special Salary Cap Ahead of PSL 11 Transfer Window". ProPakistani.
- ^ سہیل عمران (10 March 2026). "پاکستان سپر لیگ 11 کے شیڈول کا اعلان کردیا گیا" (in Urdu). Geo News. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Sohail Imran (16 March 2026). "PSL 11 tickets to go on sale online from Tuesday as pricing structure unveiled". Geo News. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ Ammara Khan (22 March 2026). "PSL to commence without spectators, matches limited to Karachi, Lahore". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ a b Jai Rai (22 March 2026). "Pakistan Super League to be held without spectators". Gulf News. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
- ^ "پی ایس ایل 11 کے میچ آفیشلز کا اعلان". jang.com.pk (in Urdu).
- ^ "Richie Richardson to make debut as PSL 11 match officials confirmed". www.geosuper.tv.
- ^ a b "HBL PSL Season 11 preliminary schedule released". Dunya News. 24 February 2026. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Bushra Saleem (16 December 2025). "PSL 2026 schedule: How many matches will be played in 11th edition?". Daily Jang. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ^ Andre Pitts (15 December 2025). "Pakistan Super League 2026 to start on March 26". Olympics. Retrieved 10 March 2026.