Indian Premier League
Pat Cummins – Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Australian captain’s summer has been marred by a niggling back issue and he is yet to take to the field since the Adelaide Test in December, which is also the only game of professional cricket he has played since August. But Cummins has made his way to India and the positive news emerging out of the Sunrisers camp is that their regular skipper’s fitness is tracking well, although he missed the tournament opener against RCB.
Josh Hazlewood – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Hazlewood is set for his fourth season in red, blue and gold and has arrived in Bengaluru earlier this week. As per RCB’s coach Andy Flower he is ‘looking fit’, but like Cummins, he too sat out of the opener at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. Hazlewood was a key cog of the side that ended RCB’s IPL title drought last year with 22 wickets in 12 games but has since missed the entire Australian summer with hamstring and Achilles injuries. Given his experience and record, the side will be desperate to put him on the field for as many games as they can in their title defence.
Mitchell Starc – Delhi Capitals
Much like the other two members of the ‘Big Three’ of Australian pace attack, Starc too is unavailable for the initial games of the tournament. But unlike Cummins and Hazlewood, he is yet to make the trip to India. After coming in firing line of critical comments online, Starc revealed on social media he is ‘rehabbing and managing’ an elbow and shoulder injury but is committed to joining DC later in the season. The 36-year-old had pushed through all five Ashes Tests before turning up for the Sydney Sixers for five games in his first BBL appearance in over a decade but hasn’t played professional cricket in over two months.
Cameron Green – Kolkata Knight Riders
Green broke Starc’s record to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction with KKR’s winning bid of A$4.27m. But with the price tag comes the added pressure of performance and it is a given that the allrounder will be under scrutiny the next two months. Green is returning to the IPL after a year off and will be keen to revive the memories of his first season, where he had a solid outing with the bat for the Mumbai Indians that earned him a big paycheck in a trade to RCB the next year. This Aussie summer was a lean one for Green but he finished it with a century in WA’s last Shield game.
Travis Head – Sunrisers Hyderabad
Head is back for a third season with SRH, where he forms a dreaded opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma. The left-hander had delivered for the Orange Army in Sunrisers’ run to the final in 2024 by scoring over 500 runs at a strike rate just under 200. Those numbers are hard to match but his last season’s return still make for a good reading and the side will be expecting nothing less from the South Australian again.
Cooper Connolly – Punjab Kings
The left-handed spin allrounder is ready for his maiden stint in the IPL after being fetched by the Ricky Ponting-coached Punjab Kings in last December’s player auction for A$510k. Now an all-format international, the West Australian will be taking confidence from another productive Big Bash season, finishing as the Perth Scorchers’ leading wicket-taker in BBL|15 after sharing the player of the tournament award with Glenn Maxwell the year before. He was also named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year by Cricket Australia.
Tim David – Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Power-hitter David has been one of the best lower-order batters in the IPL since his breakout season for Mumbai in 2022 and returns for the champions RCB once again. He will be hurting after missing last season’s final victory over Punjab with injury with Romario Shepherd coming in and filling his role. It will be interesting to see if David makes his way further up the RCB batting order, as he has done for Australia in recent times.
Mitch Marsh – Lucknow Super Giants
Marsh’s switch to the Justin Langer-coach Lucknow worked wonders last season with the big-hitting West Australian smashing 627 runs to finish with the fifth-most for the tournament. Marsh hit six 50s and a century (117) in a dominant campaign that saw him use the Impact Player Sub rule to his advantage, limiting his time in the field and maximising it in the middle.
Marcus Stoinis – Punjab Kings
Stoinis returned to Punjab last season after seven seasons at different franchises and became an important finisher for Ricky Ponting’s side as they reached the final. While his contribution was limited in the decider (he didn’t enter the game until the 17th over of the unsuccessful chase) he struck at 186 across the season and recorded five not outs from his 11 innings. It’s a big tournament for the 36-year-old.
Matt Short – Chennai Super Kings
A huge opportunity for Short to press his claim for higher honours after being dropped from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad at the end of January. He was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings and should be a good chance to play as the side’s main spinning allrounder. Short admitted on the Unplayable Podcast he was a little surprised to be selected for this tournament with his only previous matches in the IPL coming for Punjab back in 2023.
Mitch Owen – Punjab Kings
Owen’s breakout BBL|14 campaign launched the Tasmanian into maiden IPL contract last season, but his sole match as a replacement player for Punjab resulted in a second-ball duck. Now on deck for the entire tournament, Owen will be keen to put an underwhelming BBL|15 behind him with some big runs in the highest-scoring league in the world.
Josh Inglis – Lucknow Super Giants
A big coup for Lucknow, Inglis makes the switch from Punjab where his 11 matches yielded 278 runs at a strike rate of 163 last season, which included 39 off 23 in the final. It was a big A$1.49m payday for the WA wicketkeeper who will now be expected to perform as one of Lucknow’s most expensive recruits, however given his captain is fellow ‘keeper Rishabh Pant, it’s unlikely we’ll see Inglis given the gloves this season.
Ben Dwarshuis – Punjab Kings
Dwarshuis comes in for his first IPL campaign and joins forces with head coach Ricky Ponting and several other Australians on the roster. He’s enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough past 12 months on the international stage, playing lots of ODI and T20I cricket for Australia and comes into the IPL with one of the best bowling records in the Big Bash in recent times.
Xavier Bartlett – Punjab Kings
Another one of the five Aussies in Punjab, the quick is back with the Kings after playing his maiden IPL season for the franchise last year. Bartlett got four outings in that first stints, taking two wickets at an expensive economy of 9.6. He will certainly be eyeing a bigger impact, but his opportunities might again be limited given the cap of four on overseas players in the XI.
Spencer Johnson – Chennai Super Kings
A late call up for the left-arm quick Johnson, who was signed just a few days ago as the replacement player for the injured Nathan Ellis (hamstring). Johnson was on the roster for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League but will cross the border and commit to CSK.
Pakistan Super League
Steve Smith – Multan Sultans
With a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics front of mind, Smith is committed to improving his T20 game and will feature for Tim Paine’s Mutlan Sultans in this year’s PSL. Smith dominated the most recent BBL campaign by blasting 299 runs in six innings which included a breathtaking 100 in the Sydney Smash. Smith can add Pakistan to his list of T20 assignments, having previously played in the Indian Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Men’s Hundred (UK), Major League Cricket (USA), Bangladesh Premier League and the Canadian league.
Marnus Labuschagne – Hyderabad Kingsmen
Labuschagne will take charge of the Kingsmen in their inaugural season as one of the two new franchises added to the PSL for 2026. It’s Labuschagne’s first real foray into an international T20 league, having previously only represented the Brisbane Heat in the BBL and Glamorgan in the UK’s T20 Blast.
David Warner – Karachi Kings
Warner is back again to lead the Karachi Kings after doing so last season and enjoying a successful year where he hit 368 runs in 11 innings. The 39-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, hitting two centuries in BBL|15 which included 130no against Hobart Hurricanes in January. The ‘Bull’ is due to return for the Sydney Thunder next season when he’ll be into his 40s.
Ashton Turner – Multan Sultans
The five-time Big Bash winner with Perth Scorchers takes his talents, and crucially his leadership skills, to the PSL and will captain Multan Sultans in 2026. Turner played three matches with the Sultans last season and is one of the few Aussies with prior PSL experience.
Glenn Maxwell – Hyderabad Kingsmen
One of the most recognised and sought-after T20 exponents of the past decade and a half and won’t feature in the IPL for the first time since 2011, with the only exception being the 2019 season which he opted out of to chase his Test dream. It equals 141 games and 13 seasons of IPL experience will take his talents to the PSL for the first time as one of Hyderabad’s foundation players.
Adam Zampa – Karachi Kings
This is the first PSL stint for Australia’s leading T20 spinner, who has started well for the Kings with an economical spell of 1-26 against Quetta Gladiators. Zampa has already picked up three four-wicket hauls this year, all four coming in the subcontinent, including one in Pakistan.
Usman Khawaja – Rawalpindi Pindiz
The recently-retired Test opener will return to the PSL, signed as a replacement for the injured Laurie Evans for the new franchise Rawalpindi. The left-hander played for Islamabad United, the city of his birth, during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020-21, and hit a century among his seven innings in a very successful stint.
Chris Green – Islamabad United
Green is no stranger to the franchise circuit, having plied his trade in leagues around the world. He returns to the PSL for the first time since 2019, when he played a season for Multan Sultan. The off-spin allrounder recently turned out for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SAT20, and while his economy was on the higher side in the four games he played, he took three wickets to help set the stage for his side’s win over MI Cape Town.
Ben McDermott – Quetta Gladiators
The T20 freelancer who doesn’t hold a state contract has been offering his big-hitting services around the world, even in off-beat places like Hong Kong and Malaysia. McDermott returns to Pakistan for his second stint after he was called up as a replacement player by Karachi Kings last year. He has been an important part of the Hobart Hurricanes’ recent success in the BBL and had another productive year in purple, scoring 322 runs in 11 innings.
Sam Harper – Quetta Gladiators
Harper’s golden Australian summer has seen him rewarded with his first overseas T20 gig, with Quetta Gladiators in the PSL. The franchise has allowed the Victorian wicketkeeper to take part in the Sheffield Shield final, which overlaps with the start of the season. Harper had the best BBL campaign of his career, smashing a Boxing Day century against Sydney Sixers and has also been in fine form for the Vics in both 50-over and first-class formats.
Aaron Hardie – Peshawar Zalmi
The allrounder was one of the stars of the Perth Scorchers’ championship run in BBL|15, making match-winning contributions with the bat and regularly chipping in with wickets. After failing to get game time with the Punjab Kings last year in his first visit to the IPL, Hardie has earned a contract in Pakistan, where he has already made his maiden appearance for Peshawar Zalmi.
Daniel Sams – Lahore Qalandars
The T20 specialist brings plenty of experience as a proven wicket-taker. The Sydney Thunder left-armer is also known for his quick-scoring cameos in the lower-middle order. Sams is returning to the PSL after a year’s gap and Zalmi is the second franchise he has represented in Pakistan, having played for the Karachi Kings previously.
Josh Philippe – Multan Sultans
While Philippe hasn’t featured in an overseas league since representing Sussex in the T20 Blast in 2022, his recently ascension to the Australian limited-overs sides has seen the wicketkeeper’s stocks rise. He’ll take the gloves for the Australian-heavy Multan Sultans and will likely have to bat in the relatively unfamiliar middle order.
Riley Meredith – Hyderabad Kingsmen
The Tasmanian who has a reputation for his express pace is turning out for the newcomers Hyderabad Kingsmen after representing Islamabad United last year. He will be looking for more opportunities to trouble the batters than the four he got the previous season. While he was expensive in the BBL this season, he continued to be a key strike weapon for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Peter Siddle – Multan Sultans
Siddle famously turned his back on a call to retire from all forms of cricket at the end of last summer. He has since produced his best BBL season yet, taking 16 wickets at a superb economy of 7.15, which earned him inclusion in the official team of the tournament. The 41-year-old has already re-signed with the Melbourne Stars for another season and produced an economical four-over spell of 1-29 in his first game in the PSL.
Lachie Shaw – Multan Sultans
The NSW youngster joins his Sydney Sixers teammates Smith and Philippe at the Multan Sultans, which is set to be his first overseas franchise stint. Shaw slotted in the middle-order for the Sixers and played short but speedy cameos for the side. While his gametime is likely to be limited in a heavyweight overseas lineup, the ‘keeper-batter will be relishing the opportunity to work with former Australian captain and glovesman Tim Paine, the head coach of the Sultans.
