The 2026 Pakistan Super League, also known as PSL 11 and branded as HBL PSL 11, is the eleventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a professional franchise Twenty20cricket league organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 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 taking place from 26 March to 3 May 2026 across two cities of Pakistan.
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 the 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]
Ali Tareen, previous owner of Multan Sultans franchise, announced that he would not renew his agreement with the PCB, and cited financial losses and disagreements regarding the league's management.[5] Thus, PCB decided to resell 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 the Multan Sultans.[7][8]
Trophy
The trophy for the season is named "Infinity". Designed by Hanif Jewellers, 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 crescent 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.[9][10][11]
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".[12]
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 a 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.[13] 888 players, including local and foreign, registered for the auction at 4 different base prices.[14]
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.[15] 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 of 22 players.[16]
On 26 March, the PCB introduced a new rule that each captain can submit two sets of first XI to the referee before beginning the match.[17]
The PCB revealed the venue details on 10 March 2026. Lahore will be hosting the opening match as well as the final.[18]
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.[19][20]
The season's logo variant was revealed on 4 March,[24][25] with an official nomenclature, HBL PSL 11,[a] and the official anthem was released on 24 March, titled "Khelenge Beat Pe".[26]
Broadcast
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.[27][28][29][30]
The names for the commentary panel and presenters were revealed on 23 March. Notably, Shoaib Malik will be making his debut in Urdu commentary after retiring from the game, as he has played in the previous ten seasons.[31] Due to no on-field spectators, this edition will be a watch-from-home, having a dedicated Urdu feed along with match analysis talk show which is introduced for the first time.[32][33][34]
League stage
Format
Due to the expansion to eight teams, this edition is being played under a revised format with a total of 44 matches, replacing the double round-robin format used in previous editions. The teams are divided into two virtual 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.[35][36]
The schedule was planned following the completion of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which was held during February and March, and the league also coincides with the 2026 Indian Premier League.[37] The PCB announced a revised schedule on 22 March 2026.[20]
Match 1 26March2026(2026-03-26) 20:00 (N) Scorecard
Maryam Nawaz, the Chief Minister of Punjab and niece of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, attended the opening match along with several political figures,[41] despite the PCB has restricted general public at the stadiums.[20] A controversy emerged when a post from the official X account of Rawalpindiz's fast bowler Naseem Shah, criticizing Nawaz's reception. The tweet was later deleted and Shah later issued a clarification claiming his account had been compromised. Despite the clarification, the PCB issued him a show-cause notice, asserting that the incident breached the terms of his central contract and the board's media regulations regarding public criticism of officials.[42]
Security protocol breach
Punjab Police wrote a formal letter to the PSL CEO, stating that on 28 March, Lahore Qalandars' captain Shaheen Afridi and teammate Sikandar Raza breached a security protocol at the team hotel, and brought four visitors to a hotel room, despite the permsission request by Qalandars team owner Sameen Rana was denied by the PSL officials. Police requested a review of the incident, and demanded necessary action to prevent future violations.[43] Raza later stated he was unaware of the updated protocols, noting that meeting family members at the hotel had been allowed in previous seasons.[44]
Ball tampering controversy
On 29 March, the on-field umpires found that Lahore Qalandars had violated Law 41.3.2, which deals with ball tampering. As a result, they were penalized five runs, which were awarded to Karachi Kings during the match. The match referee conducted an investigation immediately after the match, where Lahore Qalandars player Fakhar Zaman denied the allegations of tampering.[38][45]
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