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PSL 2026: Islamabad United Chase Fourth Title

Islamabad United have arguably been the best PSL side in the first ten seasons. Can they continue their success in this new era of the league with a freshly built squad and be the first team to clinch a fourth title? The sudden changes in the schedule and venues will make things difficult for them.

PSL 2026: Islamabad United Schedule

28th March – vs Multan Sultans – Gaddafi Stadium
31st March – vs Peshawar Zalmi – Gaddafi Stadium
2nd April – vs Quetta Gladiators – Gaddafi Stadium
4th April – vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – Gaddafi Stadium
9th April – vs Lahore Qalandars – National Stadium
12th April – vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – National Stadium
16th April – vs Karachi Kings – National Stadium
23rd April – vs Rawalpindi Pindiz – National Stadium
24th April – vs Hyderabad Kingsmen – National Stadium
26th April – vs Multan Sultans – National Stadium

28th April – Qualifier – National Stadium
29th April – Eliminator 1 – Gaddafi Stadium
1st May – Eliminator 2 – Gaddafi Stadium
3rd May – Final – Gaddafi Stadium

Overview

Islamabad United have always portrayed themselves as a team that plans ahead and seeks to out-think the opponents. The #DimaghSe approach might not always have been reflected in reality, but they were, after all, the first PSL team to get to one, two and three titles, always one step ahead of the others.

But even they could not have planned for the circumstances in which they’ll have to hunt their fourth title, in what promises to be anything but a normal season. The silver lining is that with all the games shifted to two venues, planning ahead should be much easier.

Top Order

Islamabad have always built their batting around foreign firepower at the top, and Sahibzada Farhan was a rare exception to that last season. Losing him, alongside Alex Hales, Rassie van der Dussen, and Salman Ali Agha, left United with the difficult task of rebuilding the top order from scratch.

Middle Order

Having lost Azam Khan, United have shifted some of their foreign firepower to the middle order, in the form of Mark Chapman, who loves batting in Pakistan, and the Nepali batter Dipendra Singh Airee, a very underrated signing. The loss of Max Bryant will hurt, but his replacement, Chris Green, adds hitting ability with much-needed spin stocks, given the surfaces in Lahore and Karachi will likely get drier with frequent use.

The return of Faheem Ashraf is the jewel in the crown for Islamabad, as he offers the invaluable combination of death overs hitting and useful seam bowling. Haider Ali has once again been persisted with, but his recent record leaves much to be desired.

Spin Attack

This is perhaps the weakest part of the squad, which was clearly assembled with five home games in Rawalpindi in mind. Nonetheless, with the change in schedule, United’s senior spinners, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim, will have to carry them through the season, while the younger Mehran Mumtaz may become more of a threat in the later parts of the season. Chris Green adds a valuable Powerplay spin option, always useful in this format and these conditions.

Pace Attack

Having lost Naseem Shah to their cousins in Pindi(z), United have banked on the strategy of picking pacers with high ceilings, but low floors as well. Salman Mirza and Mohammad Hasnain offer new ball options, while Richard Gleeson and Salman Irshad are death bowling specialists.

Faheem Ashraf is a useful jack-of-all-trades, and can plug whatever holes are left, but he has recently done well in the middle and death overs. The form and combination of the pace attack will likely decide the trajectory of Islamabad’s season, as they tend to be a high-scoring side, but have trouble stopping the runs from flowing freely.