PSL 2026: Islamabad United sign Australia star as Laurie Evans replacement

Rawalpindi Pindiz have signed former Australia batter Usman Khawaja as their replacement for England batter Laurie Evans ahead of the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL). 

Evans became the latest overseas player to pull out of the PSL at the eleventh hour, joining the likes of Spencer Johnson and Dusan Shanaka. The latter two withdrew from the tournament for IPL contracts as injury replacements. Rawalpindi Pindiz, however, have not provided an official reason as to why Evans pulled out.

Khawaja recently retired from international cricket following the conclusion of the 2025-26 Ashes. The left-handed batter played three games in the Big Bash League following the conclusion of the Test series against England where he scored 108 runs at a strike-rate of 147.94. Captaining Brisbane Heat, the 39-year-old scored 78 from 48 balls against Sydney Thunder in his first game in the competition.

Khawaja has previously played one season in the PSL, coming back in 2021 where he represented Islamabad United and scored 246 runs whilst striking at 152.79. As captain, he also scored a century against Peshawar Zalmi, hitting an unbeaten 105 off just 56 deliveries. 

Khawaja will join a squad which includes other overseas players, including Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Dian Forrester, Rishad Hossain and Cole McConchie. The latter was a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, who also decided to withdraw from the tournament. 

Though not renowned for his T20 game, Khwaja has played more than 120 games in the shortest format of the game. He has scored 3,400 runs at a strike-rate of 131.32 whilst registering three hundred. He has, however, played just nine T20Is for Australia and last featured for his country in 2016.

The 2026 PSL season kicks off on Thursday, March 26 with defending champions Lahore Qalandars taking on new franchise Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the tournament is set to be played behind closed doors and across just two venues – Lahore and Karachi.