The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 has reached its business end and the playoff round of the tournament will kick off on Tuesday (April 28). The PSL follows the same format as the PSL. The top two teams will get two chances to qualify for the final. The third and fourth-placed teams will have to win three back-to-back games in the playoffs to win the trophy. Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi finished the tournament in the top position. Zalmi won 8 out of their 10 games. They have 17 points at a strong NRR of +2.324. They are followed by Islamabad United.
Islamabad won 6 out of their 10 games. They have 13 points at an NRR of +1.667 Peshawar and Islamabad will have two chances each to qualify for the final.
Multant Sultant finished third in the table with 6 wins and 12 points at an NRR of +0.326. Hyderabad Kingsmen won 5 and lost as many games. Hyderabad have 10 points at an NRR of -0.361.
PSL 2025 Champions Lahore Qalandars also registered 5 wins but their NRR (-0.482) was less than Hyderabad’s. Quetta Gladiators, who entered PSL 2026 as the runners-up of the previous season, also failed to make it to the next round.
PSL 2026 playoff matches and venues
Peshawar and Islamabad will square off in the qualifier of the PSL 2026 on Tuesdat (April 28). The fixture will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi from 7:30 PM IST. The winning team will punch its ticket to the final while the losing team will have one more opportunity.
Multan and Hyderabad will meet in the first eliminator at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday (April 29). The winning team will stay alive while the losing side will crash out. The winning team of the first eliminator will meet the losing team of the qualifier in the second eliminator.
The winner of the second eliminator will take on the winning team of the qualifier on May 3 in Lahore. The final will star at 7:30 PM IST.
PSL 2026 most runs and wickets
Peshwar’s Kusal Mendis and Babar Azam top the run-scoring charts in PSL 2026. Mendis has 500 runs in 9 matches while Babar has scored 485 runs. Both of them have scored a century each. Peshawar’s Sufiyan Muqeem tops the wicket-taking charts with 19 wickets. He is followed by Lahore’s captain Shaheen Afridi, who has 16 wickets in 10 matches.
PSL 2026 squads for first qualifier:
Peshawar Zalmi Squad: Babar Azam (Captain), James Vince, Babar Azam, Kusal Mendis, Michael Bracewell, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Farhan Yousaf, Khurram Shahzad, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mohammad Basit, Ali Raza, Abdul Subhan, Kashif Ali, Mirza Tahir Baig, Aamer Jamal, Brian Bennett, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Haris, Khalid Usman, Aaron Hardie.
Islamabad United Squad: Devon Conway(w), Sameer Minhas, Mohsin Riaz, Shadab Khan(c), Mark Chapman, Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Chris Green, Imad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Salman Irshad, Mohammad Hasnain, Mehran Mumtaz, Shamar Joseph, Mohammad Faiq, Hamza Sajjad, Nisar Ahmad, Andries Gous, Sameen Gul, Dipendra Singh Airee, Richard Gleeson.
