PSL 2026 to overlap with IPL as Pakistan Cricket Board confirms dates

The 2026 season of the Pakistan Super League is scheduled to run from March 26 to May 3, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed. PCB chairperson Mohsin Naqvi made the official announcement during a roadshow for the league ahead of the upcoming season. Naqvi also disclosed that the auction for the two newly-introduced franchises will be January 8.

As a result, the PSL is now set to overlap with the Indian Premier League for the second-year straight. The IPL has traditionally begun in the final week of March and continues till the end of May. The 2025 season also crossed dates with the Indian event, as Pakistan had to host the ICC Champions Trophy during the February-March window, the traditional calendar for PSL annually, since its inaugural season.

There will be eight teams from the previously-listed six franchises for PSL 2026. As mentioned above, the franchise auctions have been scheduled to take place next month. The administrative board has shortlisted Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit as potential venues for the next season.

Lahore Qalandars will enter PSL 2026 as the defending champions. They won their third PSL title in four years by defeating Quetta Gladiators by six wickets in a clash in which both teams posted scores in excess of the 200-run mark. Being set a target of 202, the Qalandars won the match with only a delivery to spare. Kusal Perera was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 31-ball 62-run knock.

The Player of the Tournament award was secured by Hasan Nawaz. He registered 399 runs in only 10 innings at a blistering strike rate of 162.19 with 20 fours and 28 sixes. Speaking of the Qalandars, Fakhar Zaman (439 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 152.96) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (19 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 7.76) were the team’s leading run-getters and wicket-takers, respectively.