PSL 2026: The Pakistan Super League will return for another edition, with the first match kicking off on March 26 on Friday. The league organisers have attracted a lot of flak from fans after they decided to hold the tournament behind closed doors due to prevailing tensions in West Asia. In another incident, Karachi Kings’ recently appointed captain, David Warner, was caught getting irritated during the press meet with all other skippers.
The incident took place when Warner was responding to a journalist’s question regarding his team’s chances in the tournament. While Warner was speaking, he was getting distracted and visibly irritated due to whispering and laughing among Marnus Labuschagne (Hyderabad Kingsmen), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars), Mohammad Rizwan (Rawalpindi), and Saud Shakeel (Quetta Gladiators).
Warner was forced to stop in between as he quipped, “What’s wrong? Sorry, gentlemen, we have got school kids here.”
UNREAL DOWNFALL OF AUSTRELIAN LEGEND DAVID WARNER 😭pic.twitter.com/PPzHiyuzTQ
— Cricket Central (@CricketCentrl) March 25, 2026
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has stated that the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has requested all of Pakistan to “restrict their movements because of the fuel crisis,” according to ESPNcricinfo.
PSL’s ‘Conflict Of Interest’
There is also a lot of uncertainty over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy on its employees after selector Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz’s involvement with PSL franchises.
PSL Schedule
The tournament has also been reduced from six venues to just two, with all matches now scheduled in Lahore and Karachi. Additionally, the opening ceremony in Lahore has also been called off.
The PSL is set to begin on 26 March, with the final on 3 May.
Naqvi stated that, due to the fuel crisis, the Prime Minister has urged people to limit movement, with measures like school closures, work-from-home arrangements, and extended Eid holidays, while the duration of the ongoing war remains uncertain.
“The Prime Minister requested all of Pakistan to restrict their movements because of the fuel crisis. We closed schools and instituted work from home and increased the number of Eid holidays. We don’t know how long this war will last,” Naqvi said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
with inputs from agency
