Peshawar Zalmi
Peshawar Zalmi enter this edition at the back of an uncharacteristic campaign in 2025 that ended in the group stage. It had never happened before as Zalmi – counted as one of the most consistent teams in the PSL – made it to the playoffs in all nine editions and played three consecutive finals in 2017 (champions), 2018, and 2019. They have made a number of changes to their squad from the last season. Their captaincy, however, remains with Babar Azam, who was retained for PKR 70 million and has been at the helm since he joined them in 2023.
Best result: Champions (2017)
2025 finish: Fifth
Strengths
- Their all-round core in Aaron Hardie (direct signing), Michael Bracewell, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Aamer Jamal will help them balance their XI. They can call up the services of Hardie and Jamal at a high-scoring Lahore, and can play Bracewell and Ahmed at spin-friendly Karachi.
Weaknesses
- Zalmi’s batting strategy has revolved around Babar as his anchoring abilities allowed the power hitters around him to go berserk. He endured a rough 2025 in which he mustered only 288 runs, the lowest for him in a season since the inaugural edition when he played only two matches. Babar was ordinary in the T20 World Cup, he was dropped for Pakistan’s final game, and all eyes will be on his T20 form once again.
Islamabad United
Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim will be expected to do the heavylifting among United’s spinners•PCB
Islamabad United had a perfect start to their campaign last season – winning their first five matches – and seemed on course to become the second side to defend the PSL title. But, they crashed and burned midway and lost four consecutive matches before winning the last group stage contest, which put them in second place on the points table. They, however, failed to find their form in the Qualifiers 1 and 2. Their loss of form was blamed on the constant tinkering of the playing XI, which was due to niggles and rotation policy. United have the most wins (61) in PSL history and also the best win-loss ratio of 1.22.
Best result: Champions (2016, 2018, 2024)
2025 finish: Qualifier 2
Strengths
- A versatile pace attack. Salman Mirza, Salman Irshad, Richard Gleeson, Mohammad Hasnain and Faheem Ashraf bring their idiosyncrasies and can operate with the new and old ball. Mirza, Hasnain, and Faheem can swing the new ball and deploy offcutters, while Gleeson and Irshad are known for their ability to nail yorkers in the latter half.
Weaknesses
- Their spin bowling looks light as Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim, who last played any cricket in January, are not the bowlers they once were, and Mehran Mumtaz, the other regular spinner, took only three wickets in four matches in the recent National T20 Cup.
