PSL to add 2 new teams from 2026 to challenge IPL

The Pakistan Super League is aiming to add two more teams from the 2026 edition of the tournament. Currently, the PSL has six teams and the league is aiming to expand it to eight teams soon.

It is a piece of big news for Pakistan cricket and will be a huge achievement for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which is constantly looking to expand the league. The league has been growing from strength to strength with every year and the PCB aims to make it bigger and better.

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PSL to add two more teams from next edition

The update was confirmed by the CEO of the league Salman Naseer during an interaction with the local media. He confirmed that the league might get two more teams by the end of this year.

“By the end of this year, we might get two more teams. We started at a time when no cricket was happening in Pakistan. The challenge was to bring it back,” Naseer was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Naseer further spoke about taking cricket to less traditional cricket centers apart from the bigger cities like Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi. He feels that cricket needs to be taken to second-tier cities in order to expand the game.

“Now that we’ve successfully brought cricket back to traditional centres, the next step is expanding beyond these four cities (Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Multan),” the PSL CEO added.

“This year will be an interesting test” – Salman Naseer

While the PSL aims to expand the no. of teams, Salman Naseer admitted that it will be a bigger test this year, and a bigger window is expected with more no. of teams next year as the no. of matches will increase.

“This year will be an interesting test, and with more teams, we anticipate a bigger window. Some of our rights are up for valuation after this PSL. A lot will depend on the data we gather,” he further said to the local media.

Managing a bigger window will become a huge challenge for the league. Usually, it ends just before the beginning of the IPL, which is a premier franchise league in the world. If PSL clashes with the IPL, it will mean they will be deprived of some of the best players in the world.

The league is all set to clash with the IPL this year and its viewership is likely to be severely affected this time. The dates for the league had been delayed this year because of the occurrence of the Champions Trophy, which was hosted by Pakistan just a few days ago.

When will PSL 2025 start?

The upcoming season of Pakistan Super League will begin from April 11 with the defending champions Islamabad United taking on Lahore Qalandars in Rawalpindi in the opening game.

Islamabad United are also the most successful team in the league with three titles to their name. Multan Sultans have reached the finals of the last three seasons but haven’t been able to lift the trophy even once. Sultans won the trophy back in 2021, which is also their only title to show.