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PCB announce that 2 new teams will be added to PSL in 2026

Which two new teams would you recommend adding to the PSL in 2026?

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According to local sources, PSL CEO Salman Naseer has confirmed that eight franchises will participate in next year's competition. Naseer also mentioned that Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sialkot, and Faisalabad are being considered as potential new homes for the upcoming teams. However, Salman clarified the reports. While he confirmed addition of new teams, he said the cities are not yet decided.

PSL Eyes Expansion: Two New Teams Set for 2026, Cities Not Yet Finalised

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to take a significant leap with its eleventh edition in 2026, as league CEO Salman Naseer confirmed the addition of two new teams. While the move has stirred excitement among cricket fans and regional supporters, Naseer was quick to clarify recent speculation: no final decision has been made on the cities selected.

Rumours recently flooded social media suggesting that Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Sialkot, and Faisalabad were contenders for team slots. However, Naseer explained that those cities were merely hypothetical examples used in past discussions. The league’s governing body, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has not formally shortlisted any locations yet.

No Cities Finalised Yet for PSL Expansion

Fans have long called for more regional representation in the league, especially from cricket-passionate cities that have yet to feature. But PSL officials are treading carefully. “We are expanding, yes, but the cities being shared online are speculative,” Naseer noted, urging patience as internal deliberations continue.

The league, which launched in 2016 with five teams, welcomed Multan Sultans in 2018 as its sixth franchise. Now, with PSL expansion plans officially on the table for the 2026 season, expectations are soaring—though specifics remain under wraps.
 
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Rashid Latif was saying there is a strong investor interested in Hyderabad.

Larkana could be the second team.
 
Rawalpindi Royals and Faisal Super Kings, has to be the two franchises they also have their proper stadium
 
There shuld be sialkot side for sure... They were the most dominating domestic side ever... They could do it again if right selections made.
 
Interesting idea.

I would be interested to see, if they continue to have the same timeline as the IPL.
 
The new teams should be from cities which have existing stadiums. We badly need to move the PSL to places like Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwalla e.t.c.
 
Realistically, these two teams will be from Faisalabad, Sialkot, or Rawalpindi. The teams are chosen based on their fan base, and these three cities already have a massive following.

I personally want one extra team to be either from Sindh or FATA region
 
Has to be cities with stadiums that are viable. That leaves Faisalabad and Sheikhupura as viable candidates. Pindi too if you want to start a rivalry.
 
Good to hear that they'll be finally adding two more teams.

Before doing that they need to upgrade those grounds and make them fit for purpose and have good quality hotels too.

Faisalabad could be one, not sure of the other.
 
mominsaigol said:
And 2 extra teams doesnt do that? Bro what?
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Make thier existing team better, manage them better, market them better. Adding teams won't do anything if the older teams are not earning anything...

Make it a profitable league first... Things have improved but they should wait for another year or 2
 
"First, they need to make these 6 teams actually competitive. I heard the Champions League is coming back—at least build one team that can actually challenge the other league teams. Right now, there’s not even hype left—PSL is basically dead. And now they’re talking about adding 2 more teams? For what? Who’s even going to play? We’re struggling to find 3 decent overseas players for each team as it is.

Who’s going to play in those two new teams? Rahkeem Cornwall? And under Azam Khan as captain? Come on… PSL doesn’t have the depth right now. There’s no chance these teams can be competitive for at least 3–4 years. Focus on strengthening the current six teams before dreaming bigger."
 
6 teams are too few for a tournament that has 4 teams qualifying for the playoffs. At least one more team is needed to improve the competition.
 
Savak said:
It will be scandalous for the PCB to renew Ali Tareens rights from future seasons onwards. You can't have a psl team owner going rogue and public against the brand and the PCB like this.
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They can't bar him if he's willing to pay the price for a new contract. Money is money to PCB. Doesn't matter which individual is giving.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Make it a profitable league first...
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This doesn't reconcile well with these two facts.

1. PSL is ongoing still after 10 seasons.
2. All owners (at least 5) are willing to renew with potentially higher team fees.

If PSL and teams are not profitable yet. Why then point no. 1 and 2 are facts?
 
RidiculousMan said:
This doesn't reconcile well with these two facts.

1. PSL is ongoing still after 10 seasons.
2. All owners (at least 5) are willing to renew with potentially higher team fees.

If PSL and teams are not profitable yet. Why then point no. 1 and 2 are facts?
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Sunk cost fallacy?
 
BouncerGuy said:
Make thier existing team better, manage them better, market them better. Adding teams won't do anything if the older teams are not earning anything...

Make it a profitable league first... Things have improved but they should wait for another year or 2
Click to expand...

Profitability may not exist in terms of positive net income in a current year but the franchise’s market value is going higher every year.
 
Ideally, two new teams should have been finalized by now, and discussions for player retention should already have started.
 
Islamabad Iganaus and Lahore Leopards , the logistics wise best possible franchise
 
It will be Faisalabad and Hyderabad as the teams are always selected based on potential no. of followers and the same also attracts investors and sponsors.
 
One from north and one from south if naming one after one of Kashmir cities runs into hurdles.
But PSL has struggled to attract good enough oversees players, will it be feasible?
The draft system has to go. The fact that after one platinum pick the franchises have to resort to no names is awful for a 10 year old league.
 
Ball Blazer said:
Ideally, two new teams should have been finalized by now, and discussions for player retention should already have started.
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What else can you expect from this shambolic management.

No clue about additional teams and we don't even know what window PSL will be played in. It was originally supposed to be played in December/January window. No idea when the draft will be held. How many retentions if there are additional teams etc. Nothing is ever planned out, everything is just last minute. It's why results and progress in PSL continues to be so pedestrian.
 
Defo need one more team from KPK considering most talent comes from that region
 
I would do it in stages. Add one team and then another 2/3years down the line. The talent is already spread thinly and adding more teams will stretch in further
 
According to reporters, even though Salman Naseer has been appointed the CEO of the PSL, he is unable to devote his energies, efforts to the PSL because he is being forced to deal with other PCB matters because the other employees and officials are not up to the mark. The PCB appointed a bureacrat Summair Syed as the COO to replace Salman Naseer, but Syed has struggled in the role, he has been to ICC meetings and he is not well versed in ICC laws, regulations and as a result Mohsin Naqvi has directed Salman Naseer to help out as he is the only one in the PCB well versed in ICC laws, regulations. Salman Naseer has also been given the additional charge to dealing with the new OTT intiative launched by the PCB in the UK.

Why are all these bureaucrats in the PCB if they are incompetent and not doing their jobs properly? Why not appoint Salman Sarwar Butt as PSL CEO so that he can dedicate all his time, efforts to the PSL without being worried about PCB duties.
 
Savak said:
According to reporters, even though Salman Naseer has been appointed the CEO of the PSL, he is unable to devote his energies, efforts to the PSL because he is being forced to deal with other PCB matters because the other employees and officials are not up to the mark. The PCB appointed a bureacrat Summair Syed as the COO to replace Salman Naseer, but Syed has struggled in the role, he has been to ICC meetings and he is not well versed in ICC laws, regulations and as a result Mohsin Naqvi has directed Salman Naseer to help out as he is the only one in the PCB well versed in ICC laws, regulations. Salman Naseer has also been given the additional charge to dealing with the new OTT intiative launched by the PCB in the UK.

Why are all these bureaucrats in the PCB if they are incompetent and not doing their jobs properly? Why not appoint Salman Sarwar Butt as PSL CEO so that he can dedicate all his time, efforts to the PSL without being worried about PCB duties.
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This OTT platform initiative is ridiculous.

PCB needs to work on their Cricket to attract broadcasters rather than look to dip toes in broadcasting and make some bucks from UK audience.
 
PSL could expand to eight teams starting next season

The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), set to take place next year, could see the tournament expanded to eight teams, according to PSL Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer.

Pakistan’s flagship T20 competition began in 2016 with five franchises — Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators — before the addition of Multan Sultans in 2018 brought the total to six.

Since then, the PSL has consistently featured six sides, though discussions about expanding the league have surfaced periodically. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously announced that the 10th edition would be the last with six teams, confirming plans to introduce two new franchises from the 2026 season.

In a recent update, Naseer — who took over as PSL COO in November last year — indicated that the expansion could happen sooner than expected. “By the end of this year, we might get two more teams,” he told local media on Thursday.

Reflecting on the league’s evolution, Naseer said: “We started when no international cricket was happening in Pakistan. The challenge was to bring it back. Now that cricket has returned to our main centres — Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Multan — the next step is to expand beyond these four cities.”

Held annually in the February–March window, the PSL now faces strong competition from South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), both backed by IPL franchise owners.

“This year will be an interesting test,” Naseer added. “With more teams, we expect a bigger window. Some of our rights are up for valuation after this PSL, and a lot will depend on the data we gather.”
 
Ball Blazer said:
PSL could expand to eight teams starting next season

The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), set to take place next year, could see the tournament expanded to eight teams, according to PSL Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer.

Pakistan’s flagship T20 competition began in 2016 with five franchises — Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators — before the addition of Multan Sultans in 2018 brought the total to six.

Since then, the PSL has consistently featured six sides, though discussions about expanding the league have surfaced periodically. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously announced that the 10th edition would be the last with six teams, confirming plans to introduce two new franchises from the 2026 season.

In a recent update, Naseer — who took over as PSL COO in November last year — indicated that the expansion could happen sooner than expected. “By the end of this year, we might get two more teams,” he told local media on Thursday.

Reflecting on the league’s evolution, Naseer said: “We started when no international cricket was happening in Pakistan. The challenge was to bring it back. Now that cricket has returned to our main centres — Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Multan — the next step is to expand beyond these four cities.”

Held annually in the February–March window, the PSL now faces strong competition from South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), both backed by IPL franchise owners.

“This year will be an interesting test,” Naseer added. “With more teams, we expect a bigger window. Some of our rights are up for valuation after this PSL, and a lot will depend on the data we gather.”
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Oh hurrah
Finally an update
 
Ball Blazer said:
PSL could expand to eight teams starting next season

The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), set to take place next year, could see the tournament expanded to eight teams, according to PSL Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer.

Pakistan’s flagship T20 competition began in 2016 with five franchises — Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators — before the addition of Multan Sultans in 2018 brought the total to six.

Since then, the PSL has consistently featured six sides, though discussions about expanding the league have surfaced periodically. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously announced that the 10th edition would be the last with six teams, confirming plans to introduce two new franchises from the 2026 season.

In a recent update, Naseer — who took over as PSL COO in November last year — indicated that the expansion could happen sooner than expected. “By the end of this year, we might get two more teams,” he told local media on Thursday.

Reflecting on the league’s evolution, Naseer said: “We started when no international cricket was happening in Pakistan. The challenge was to bring it back. Now that cricket has returned to our main centres — Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Multan — the next step is to expand beyond these four cities.”

Held annually in the February–March window, the PSL now faces strong competition from South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), both backed by IPL franchise owners.

“This year will be an interesting test,” Naseer added. “With more teams, we expect a bigger window. Some of our rights are up for valuation after this PSL, and a lot will depend on the data we gather.”
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A lot relies on Salman and he has been in the thick of things. Hopefully he'll deliver good results for PSL. These decisions will impact PSL's long-term growth.
 
RidiculousMan said:
A lot relies on Salman and he has been in the thick of things. Hopefully he'll deliver good results for PSL. These decisions will impact PSL's long-term growth.
Click to expand...

He has not been allowed to focus full time on PSL. The Punjab Bureaucrats who have taken over the PCB including Summair Syed are so incompetent and have no knowledge of ICC laws, Mohsin Naqvi has ordered Salman Naseer to focus his attention on PCB affairs and to put PSL matters on the back burner.
 
Savak said:
He has not been allowed to focus full time on PSL. The Punjab Bureaucrats who have taken over the PCB including Summair Syed are so incompetent and have no knowledge of ICC laws, Mohsin Naqvi has ordered Salman Naseer to focus his attention on PCB affairs and to put PSL matters on the back burner.
Click to expand...
I still have more hopes from Salman than the bureaucrats. He has been involved with PSL for a long time now. I know he won't just abandon it.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
It is basically Punjab that can provide this but it may not be politically correct to have the whole league full of Punjab teams.
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Punjab represents 60-70% of the population and country. Sialkot and Faisalabad are the major business and cricketing hubs, the local T-20 teams had huge fanbases. It would make perfect business, economic sense plus the fact that we have Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad and Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot to launch these teams.
 
Hopefully the lpl can provide a precedent on the issues of delisting teams and also not obtaining owners for the new teams and current teams who have yet to renew their company listings
Like the lpl we currently don’t have a window for the next psl either
 

Salman Naseer latest interview regarding the PSL. He is being interviewed by the General Manager Hijab Zahid i.e. his subordinate. Why not bring in a tough neutral sports reporter who will ask independent questions to do the interview?
 
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