Lahore, February 3, 2026: Ahead of the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Sialkot Stallionz have signed Australian star Steve Smith, while several franchises have announced their player retentions and releases.
Player retentions by teams:
- Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam has been retained as the team’s marquee player. In the Diamond category, Safyan Maqsood, and in Gold, Abdus Samad, while Emerging player Ali Raza has also been retained. Fast bowler Saeem Ayub, however, has been released from the Platinum category.
- Karachi Kings: The franchise retained fast bowler Hasan Ali in the Platinum category, Abbas Afridi in Diamond, Khushdil Shah in Gold, and Saad Baig in Emerging.
- Lahore Qalandars: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars retained captain Shaheen Afridi in the Platinum category. Abdullah Shafique was retained in Diamond, Sikandar Raza in Gold, and Muhammad Naeem in Silver. Players released include Haris Rauf and Fakhar Zaman (Platinum), Salman Mirza (Diamond), Zaman Khan, Jahandad Khan, Asif Afridi, and Asif Ali (Gold), and Muhammad Ikhlaq and Muhammad Azeb (Silver).
- Islamabad United: The team retained Shadab Khan (Platinum), Salman Irshad (Gold), and Andres Goos (Silver). Released players include Naseem Shah and Sahibzada Farhan (Platinum), Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, and Imad Wasim (Platinum), Azam Khan, Haider Ali, and Roman Raees (Gold), and Mohammad Faiq and Haneen Shah (Silver).
- Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed was retained in Platinum, Usman Tariq in Diamond, Hassan Nawaz in Gold, and Hussein in Emerging. Players released include Mohammad Amir and Faheem Ashraf (Platinum), Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Wasim Junior (Diamond), Khurram Shehzad, Haseebullah Khan, Khawaja Nafe, and Danish Aziz (Gold), and Mohammad Zeeshan (Emerging).
- Peshawar Zalmi: In addition to Babar Azam, Safyan Maqsood was retained in Diamond, Abdus Samad in Gold, and Ali Raza in Emerging. Saeem Ayub was released from the Platinum category.
The retentions and releases set the stage for the player draft for PSL 11, with teams seeking a balance between experienced stars and emerging talent to compete for the title in the upcoming season.
