The Pakistan Super League (PSL 10) is just a few months away, and preparations for the tournament are already underway. Although the PSL is typically held in February, this season it will take place in April due to a clash with the ICC Champions Trophy, which is scheduled for February-March in Pakistan. As a result, the PSL will now coincide with the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s biggest franchise T20 tournament. While this overlap with the IPL could have some drawbacks, it also presents an opportunity for PSL to attract some big names from the world of T20 cricket.
In recent seasons, there has been criticism over the quality of the talent pool in the PSL. However, this time the available pool looks significantly stronger. In the earlier editions, the PSL hosted several international superstars like Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, and Chris Gayle, but the quality of the international players declined in recent seasons, with many lesser-known names joining the tournament. This season, though, the talent pool appears to be much more promising.
List of International Players in PSL 9:
| Jordan Cox (IU) | Tymal Mills (IU) | Alex Hales (IU) | Colin Munro (IU) | Matthew Forde (IU) |
| Obed McCoy (IU) | Martin Guptill (IU) | James Vince (KK) | Kieron Pollard (KK) | Daniel Sams (KK) |
| Tim Seifert (KK) | Tabraiz Shamsi (KK) | Leus du Plooy (KK) | Blessing Muzarabani (KK) | Imran Tahir (KK) |
| Rassie van der Dussen (LQ) | David Wiese (LQ) | Sikandar Raza (LQ) | Dan Lawrence (LQ) | Shai Hope (LQ) |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa (LQ) | Lorcan Tucker (LQ) | Carlos Brathwaite (LQ) | George Linde (LQ) | Sam Billings (LQ) |
| David Willey (MS) | Dawid Malan (MS) | Reeza Hendricks (MS) | Chris Jordan (MS) | Johnson Charles (MS) |
| Olly Stone (MS) | Richard Ngarava (MS) | Rovman Powell (PZ) | Noor Ahmed (PZ) | Tom Kohler-Cadmore (PZ) |
| Naveen-ul-Haq (PZ) | Dan Mousley (PZ) | Luke Wood (PZ) | Waqar Salamkheil (PZ) | Gus Atkinson (PZ) |
| Shamar Joseph* (PZ) | Paul Walter (PZ) | Rilee Rossouw (QG) | Sherfane Rutherford (QG) | Jason Roy (QG) |
| Will Smeed (QG) | Akeal Hosein (QG) | Laurie Evans (QG) | Rashid Khan* (LQ) | Reece Topley* (MS) |
| Lungi Ngidi* (PZ) | Wanindu Hasaranga* (QG) | Jamie Overton* (KK) |
While the availability of more international stars might not be a problem as there won’t be any other cricket going on due to the IPL, there are some superstars that were a part of PSL 9 but will not be available this season due to being picked by IPL teams.
PSL 9 Players unavailable due to IPL 2025:
| Rovman Powell | Noor Ahmed | Rashid Khan | Shamar Joseph | Sherfane Rutherford |
| Reece Topley | Lungi Ngidi | Wanindu Hasaranga | Jamie Overton | Kieron Pollard |
Despite the notable absences due to the scheduling conflict, PSL 10 is set to host a number of international superstars. Following is the list of the potential players that might be available for PSL X.
Pool of Players Likely for PSL 10:
| Tom Latham (NZ) | Kyle Jamieson (NZ) | Nathan Smith (NZ) | Roston Chase (WI) | Dwaine Pretorious (SA) |
| Lance Morris (Aus) | Will O’Rourke (NZ) | Adam Milne (NZ) | Dilshan Madushanka (SL) | Ottneil Baartman (SA) |
| Michael Bracewell (NZ) | Jason Behrendorff (Aus) | Matthew Short (Aus) | Kyle Mayers (WI) | Alzarri Joseph (WI) |
| Steve Smith (Aus) | Pathum Nissanka (SL) | Brandon King (WI) | Daryl Mitchell (NZ) | Rishad Hossain (Ban) |
| Mustafizur Rahman (Ban) | Josh Phillipe (Aus) | Dewald Brevis (SA) | Finn Allen (NZ) | Keshav Maharaj (SA) |
| Akeal Hosein (WI) | Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (Afg) | Alex Carey (Aus) | Kane Williamson (NZ) | David Warner (Aus) |
| Mark Chapman (NZ) | Evin Lewis (WI) | Litton Das (Ban) | Mohammad Nabi (Afg) | Tim Southee (NZ) |
| Matt Henry (NZ) | Shakib Al Hasan (Ban) | Kusal Mendis (SL) | Nandre Burger (SA) | James Neesham(NZ) |
| Josh Little (Ire) | Jhye Richardson (Aus) | Sean Abbott (Aus) | Jason Holder (WI) | Charith Asalanka (SL) |
One challenge that the PSL management will need to overcome is the availability of the English players. According to latest reports, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have restricted the English players to partake in any franchise league apart from the IPL during the English County Season.
Only players that are signed by counties on a white-ball contract will be allowed to play in franchise tournaments during the domestic season.
However, as many as 50 English players have threatened to boycott ‘the Hundred’ if this restriction is not lifted. Only time will tell if the English players will be allowed to play in PSL 10.
Potential English Players for PSL 10:
| Chris Jordan | Olly Stone | Luke Wood | Richard Gleeson | Ben Duckett |
| Adil Rashid | Jonny Bairstow | Gus Atkinson | Saqib Mahmood | Rehan Ahmed |
| Shoaib Bashir | Liam Dawson | James Anderson | Tom Banton |
