PSL to become eight-team event from 2026, confirms Pakistan Cricket Board

The Pakistan Super League will witness the entry of two new teams from the 2026 season onwards. The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has confirmed that Pakistan's premier T20 competition will transform into an eight-team event in 2026 and therefore the 10th edition will be the last six-team event in the history of the tournament.

As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, the names of both new teams and the cities that they will represent has not been decided yet.

As of now, six teams compete in the Pakistan Super League. The Pakistan Super League began in 2016 as a five-team event comprising Karachi Kings, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi, Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators.

Multan Sultans entered the rumble in 2018, making the PSL, a six-team event. Since then, there have been talks of making new addition to the tournament but nothing has come to fruition yet.

As per a PTI (Press Trust of India) report, the PCB is planning to organise the 2025 and the 2026 edition of the Pakistan



Super League in the April-May window.

While the clash with the IPL in 2025 seems unavoidable as Pakistan are slated to host the ICC Champions Trophy in February, PCB is reportedly keen on keeping the same window for the 2026 edition to access the star players from different countries.

A source close to the talks told PTI that due to the limited amount of cricket played in April-May, PSL can get access to some of the top-rated players from around the world.

"The opinion was that if the PSL is held in the April-May window, even the PSL would have access to some of the best players in the world, including those who are not picked up by the IPL franchises," the source was quoted as saying by PTI.

"The general feeling is that with the cricket calendar packed to the brim in 2025 and 2026 and onwards and with so many leagues being held between October and February, the window used by IPL would be best suited for the PSL even though the two leagues would clash for a period of time."