Franchise Cricket

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India great Virat Kohli said the breaks in his schedule help him stay "fresh and excited" as he scored an unbeaten 69 on his return to action in the Indian Premier League.

Playing his first T20 innings since last year's IPL final and his first knock of any kind since January, Kohli anchored Royal Challengers Bengaluru's impressive chase of 202 in the opening match of this year's competition.

The 37-year-old ended his 123-Test career last year and retired from T20 internationals after winning the 2024 World Cup, leaving one-day internationals, the IPL and occasional domestic matches for Delhi as his only competitive action.

"The amount of cricket I have played, for me there was always risk being burned out rather than overcooked," he said after RCB's win.

"These breaks help me immensely to stay fresh and excited.

"Whenever I come back to play it is 120%."

Kohli's 69 came from 38 balls with five fours and five sixes. He began in a more measured fashion as number three Devdutt Padikkal crashed 61 from 26 balls.

Amid a sparse schedule, it was his fifth fifty in his past 10 innings in addition to five centuries across formats.

"It was good to get back out there," Kohli said.

"The way I batted in the ODI series [against New Zealand in January] quite recently helped me stay in that same momentum.

"I wasn't playing shots that I don't usually play.

"I knew as long as I have the rhythm and have done enough work with my fitness things should come together nicely."

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Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has signed for San Francisco Unicorns in a landmark move for the Major League Cricket T20 competition.

The move will make Ashwin, 39, the first player capped by India to play in the MLC.

The off-spinner was due to play for Sydney Thunder in the 2025-26 Big Bash but had to pull out because of a knee injury.

Attracting high-profile India players has been an aim of many T20 leagues around the world, given the exposure they can bring.

Ashwin took 537 wickets in 106 Tests and also played 281 white-ball matches for India.

He retired from Test cricket in December 2024 and stepped away from the Indian Premier League last summer, making him available to play in leagues in the rest of the world.

Though Ashwin has not played since July, David White, chief executive of the San Francisco Unicorns, described the move of a "seismic moment" for American cricket.

"Beyond his tactical genius on the pitch, Ashwin brings a level of market impact that will elevate the Major League Cricket brand and drive sustained fan enthusiasm," he said.

Australia captain Pat Cummins joined Unicorns on a four-year deal in 2024.

Ashwin's signing also means he could line up alongside Pakistan and Unicorns bowler Haris Rauf amid the political tensions between the two countries.

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Michael Bracewell and Abdul Samad powered Peshawar Zalmi to their highest chase in the Pakistan Super League as they knocked off 215 to beat Rawalpindi Pindiz by five wickets in their opening match of the competition.

Zalmi needed 74 from the last five overs against PSL debutants Pindiz before the pair combined for a partnership of 64 from 23 balls.

Pakistan international Samad hit 33 from 11 balls and New Zealand's Bracewell 35 not out from 17.

Samad was caught off the last ball of the 18th over but Aamer Jamal finished 17 not out from five balls, hitting the winning runs in a victory sealed with five balls to spare.

In the later game also held in Lahore, Multan Sultans eased home in a chase of 172 to beat Islamabad United by five wickets.

Mark Chapman, another New Zealand international, was the highest scorer in Islamabad's 171-8 with 40 but contributions from a trio of Australians - 31 from Steve Smith, 55 from Josh Philippe and 43 not out by Ashton Turner - helped Sultans win with eight balls to spare.

After three days and one round of matches in the revamped PSL, Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings, Sultans and Zalmi have one win.

Pindiz, Islamabad, Hyderabad Kingsmen and Quetta Gladiators all opened their tournament's with defeats.

• PSL fixtures & results

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Moeen Ali and Hassan Ali helped Karachi Kings to a 14-run win over Quetta Gladiators in their opening Pakistan Super League game.

After being asked to bat first, Kings posted 181-7 with Moeen making an unbeaten 48 off 29 balls.

He hit four fours and three sixes and helped the 2020 champions recover from 109-5.

Gladiators got to a good start in reply, with Shamyl Hussain (52) and captain Saud Shakeel (33) sharing 79 for the first wicket.

However Shamyl's dismissal started a mini-collapse to 95-3, with Moeen picking up the wicket of Saud.

Gladiators were unable to recover and Hassan picked up 4-27 including the wickets of Rilee Rossouw (25) and Hasan Nawaz (19).

• PSL fixtures & table

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The 2026 Indian Premier League - the world's biggest T20 franchise tournament - starts on Saturday, 28 March.

The 19th edition of the competition features 10 teams battling for the title, currently held by first-time winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

The 10 teams are: Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Teams have been split into two groups based on the number of titles they have won, but the results form one league table.

Group A: Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings.

Group B: Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants.

A change has been made for this season to facilitate more high-profile matches. In the past three seasons teams in the same group have played each other twice and teams from the other group once. That's been reversed now so you play teams in your group once and the others twice.

The group stage runs until 24 May with 70 games played in total.

The final is on 31 May, with the knockouts working as follows:

26 May - Qualifier 1: First v second for place in final

27 May - Eliminator: Third v fourth - loser is knocked out

29 May - Qualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 v Winner of Eliminator

31 May - final: Winner of Qualifier 1 v winner of Qualifier 2

• Full IPL fixture list and schedule, external

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Twelve England players are set to feature in the latest edition of the Indian Premier League.

Former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler will hope to find form after a disappointing World Cup as he returns to Gujarat Titans. He's joined by batter Tom Banton and left-arm seamer Luke Wood.

Top-order batters Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell return to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, alongside a new addition in middle-order batter Jordan Cox.

Seamer Jofra Archer is back at Rajasthan Royals, while all-rounder Jamie Overton returns to Chennai Super Kings.

All-rounder Will Jacks will look to build on a promising winter at Mumbai Indians, while Liam Livingstone and Brydon Carse are joined by David Payne, who was a late replacement, at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Batter Ben Duckett had been signed by Delhi Capitals but has pulled out to play in the County Championship as he looks to ensure he keeps his place in the Test team after a lean Ashes, while all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of playing for Rajasthan Royals with an injury.

England white-ball captain Harry Brook is still serving a three-year suspension from playing in the tournament after pulling out last year.

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The Indian Premier League attracts the world's best players and the 2026 season is no different.

The best Indian players have largely remained at their existing franchises so Virat Kohli will look to go back-to-back with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and MS Dhoni will again feature for Chennai Super Kings at 44.

He'll be joined by Sanju Samson, who is one of the few movers as part of a trade from Rajasthan Royals, while Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav will look to win Mumbai Indians' first title since 2020.

Rajasthan may have lost Samson, but in 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi they have one of the most exciting talents in the tournament.

As is the norm, the India stars are joined by a wealth of overseas talent.

Australia's Cameron Green commanded a record 25.2 crore (£2.1m) for an overseas player by Kolkata Knight Riders in December's auction.

Australia pace trio Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals) and Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) all have doubts over their availability due to fitness concerns.

South Africa are well represented with David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and Lungi Ngidi all at Delhi Capitals. Dewald Brevis is at Chennai, while Kagiso Rabada at Gujarat Titans and Marco Jansen at Punjab Kings are also players to watch.

New Zealand trio Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra are all at Kolkata, while seamer Matt Henry returns to Chennai.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan is at Gujarat Titans again and is likely to play a key role.

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Will RCB win back-to-back titles and should teams expect "a scary version" of Virat Kohli now he's a T20 specialist?

Will this be MS Dhoni's last dance in the IPL? How will Chennai Super Kings utilise both Dhoni and new signing Sanju Samson?

Will being the most expensive overseas player in IPL history add extra pressure on Australia's Cameron Green?

Plus, what to expect from teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi and has Ben Duckett made the right decision to focus on England over the IPL?

That's what former IPL batter Abhinav Mukund discussed on the latest edition of BBC World Service's Stumped podcast.

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

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Defending champions Lahore Qalandars started their Pakistan Super League with a comprehensive 69-run win over new side Hyderabad Kingsmen.

After opting to bat first, Qalandars posted 199-6, built on an opening stand of 84 between Fakhar Zaman (53 off 39) and Mohammad Naeem (30 off 19).

They were both dismissed by Hassan Khan, either side of Abdullah Shafique being run out, as Qalandars slipped to 94-3 but Haseebullah Khan made an unbeaten 40 and Sikandar Raza hit 24 off 10 balls to help them up to a defendable total.

Kingsmen, who are one of two new sides in the biggest edition of the PSL, struggled in reply and fell to 65-5 after nine overs, with captain Marnus Labuschagne top-scoring with 26 off 22 balls.

He was caught and bowled by Raza, who also picked up the wicket of Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera, as Kingsmen were bowled out for 130 off the final ball.

• PSL fixtures & table

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The Pakistan Super League (PSL) returns on Thursday, 26 March for its 11th and biggest edition.

The tournament has expanded to eight teams for 2026 - with Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindiz the two new sides.

Multan Sultans initially left the tournament but another new franchise, Sialkot Stallionz, have been taken over and rebranded as Multan Sultans.

The eight teams are: Hyderabad Kingsmen, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Rawalpindiz.

Lahore are the defending champions after a six-wicket win over Quetta in last year's final.

The eight teams form one table and each side plays the other seven twice.

The group stage runs until 26 April before the qualifier (first v second in the group stage) on 28 April for a place in the final.

The eliminator follows on 29 April, with the winner of that into the second eliminator against the loser of the qualifier on 1 May.

The winner of that second eliminator progresses to the final on 3 May.

The tournament will start behind closed doors as a result of the conflict in the Gulf, with two venues - National Bank Stadium, Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore - being used.

• PSL fixtures

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Australia duo Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will both make their Pakistan Super League debuts when the tournament returns from Thursday.

Smith will play under his former Test captain Tim Paine at Multan Sultans, while Labuschagne will captain new side Hyderabad Kingsmen.

Fellow Australians David Warner and Adam Zampa (both Karachi Kings) are also involved, with New Zealand's Devon Conway (Islamabad United), Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza (Lahore Qalandars) and West Indies' Alzarri Joseph (Quetta Gladiators) among other big overseas stars.

England players include Richard Gleeson (Islamabad United), Moeen Ali (Karachi Kings), Tom Curran (Quetta Gladiators) and Sam Billings (Rawalpindiz).

Australia's Usman Khawaja was a late replacement for Laurie Evans at Rawalpindiz, while James Vince also pulled out of a spell with Peshawar Zalmi.

They join a host of Pakistan players including some who will captain their sides: Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi), Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars), Shadab Khan (Islamabad United), Saud Shakeel (Quetta Gladiators) and Mohammad Rizwan (Rawalpindiz).

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Australia's left-arm seamer Spencer Johnson has joined Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for Nathan Ellis before the Indian Premier League.

Ellis, 31, was ruled out last week with an injury so the five-time winners have turned to Johnson.

The 30-year-old has played nine IPL matches in the past two seasons - four for Gujarat Titans in 2024 and five for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2025 - and taken five wickets.

Johnson is set to join CSK between the 21-23 April.

Super Kings' opening game is against Rajasthan Royals on Monday.

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India seamer Akash Deep has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League, while England left-armer David Payne has signed as a replacement player.

Deep, 29, has a lumbar stress injury and will receive treatment at the national cricket medical centre.

He was due to play for Kolkata Knight Riders for the first time, having previously been with Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Benagluru, but has been replaced by uncapped 28-year-old Saurabh Dubey.

Payne, 35, has been signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad as a replacement for the injured Australian Jack Edwards.

It will be the first time left-armer Payne has played in the IPL.

He has taken 304 wickets in 233 T20s and has experience playing in the Big Bash and International League T20 on the franchise circuit.

Sunrisers open the tournament against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday.

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England all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League with an unspecified injury.

The 27-year-old was due to represent Rajasthan Royals for the first time but has been ruled out before the season opener on Saturday.

Curran has played 64 IPL matches, scoring 997 runs and taking 59 wickets.

He has been replaced by Sri Lanka T20 captain Dasun Shanaka, who has previously played for Gujarat Titans in the 2023 campaign.

"We are disappointed to lose a player of Sam's calibre so close to the start of the season," said Rajasthan Royals director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara.

"Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side."

The Royals' first game is against Chennai Super Kings on 30 March.

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South Africa batter Reeza Hendricks has signed as a replacement player for Johnson Charles at Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

Hendricks, 36, has replaced West Indies' Charles, who has withdrawn for personal reasons.

Hendricks has played in the PSL before, scoring 304 runs at an average of 43.42 for Multan Sultans in the 2024 season.

Elsewhere, Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk has pulled out of playing for new franchise Rawalpindiz.

The 23-year-old batter was due to play in the tournament for the first time and the side say they will announce his replacement in due course.

Kings' first game is against Quetta Gladiators on Friday, while Rawalpindiz play Peshawar Zalmi on 28 March.

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Chennai Super Kings seamer Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a hamstring injury.

The Australian, 31, was due to return to Super Kings, after playing one game in 2025, where he took one wicket.

He has previously played 16 games for Punjab Kings, taking 18 wickets.

No replacement has been announced but CSK are expected to call someone up in the coming days.

They start their campaign against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, 30 March.