The Hyderabad Kingsmen (Urdu/Sindhi: حيدرآباد کنگزمین) are a professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The franchise was established in 2026, when the league expanded from six to eight teams ahead of the 2026 Pakistan Super League. The franchise rights were sold to the FKS consortium for PKR 1.75 billion per year in an auction held by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team's home ground is Niaz Stadium.
Hyderabad made their PSL debut in the 2026 season, which was the first edition of the league to feature eight teams. The team reached the final in their debut season, losing to Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets and finishing as runners-up.
Franchise History In December 2025, the PCB formally announced the expansion of the Pakistan Super League by adding two new franchises for the 2026 season. The board initiated a bidding process and carried out a technical evaluation, resulting in ten bidders qualifying for participation in the franchise auction. Six candidate cities were shortlisted for the new franchises: Hyderabad, Sialkot, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi.
The auction was held on 8 January 2026. Hyderabad and Sialkot were officially confirmed as the two new franchise cities.
FKS consortium secured the Hyderabad franchise with a successful bid of PKR 1.75 billion per year. Fawad Sarwar was the principal figure behind the FKS consortium who is also the owner of Kingsmen Sports and Enterprise and owns Chicago Kingsmen in USA Minor League. The team name and logo were revealed in a public ceremony held at Niaz Stadium on 7 February 2026. Initially the team was named Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen but management faced backlash from team's fan base for including American city 'Houston' in teams name. Team name was changed to Hyderabad Kingsmen removing Houston after public criticism.
Performance in PSL 2026 season
The 2026 Pakistan Super League was the debut season for Hyderabad Kingsmen, who entered the league as one of two expansion teams alongside Rawalpindiz. The team was coached by Jason Gillespie, while Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne captained the side.
Hyderabad lost their first four league matches, including their opening match against Lahore Qalandars at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. They recorded their first PSL win against Karachi Kings and later qualified for the playoffs after finishing fourth in the league stage with 10 points. In the playoffs, Hyderabad defeated Multan Sultans by eight wickets in Eliminator 1 before beating Islamabad United by two runs in Eliminator 2 to reach the final.
In the final, played on 3 May 2026 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Hyderabad lost to Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets and finished as runners-up in their debut season. Hyderabad were bowled out for 129 in 18 overs, with Saim Ayub scoring 54, before Peshawar reached 130/5 in 15.2 overs.
Team identity The franchise is owned by FKS, which also owns the Chicago Kingsmen, a team competing in Minor League Cricket in the United States.
Team name and logo were revealed in a public ceremony held at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad on 7 February 2026. Team owner Fawad Sarwar revealed the franchise name as Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen, which was later renamed as 'Hyderabad Kingsmen' removing Houston from the name after public criticism.
YearKit manufacturerShirt sponsor (front) Shirt sponsor (back) Chest brandingSleeve branding2026New BalanceWisdencolspan=2 LAAM, Lake City Lahore
Current squad
+ Key Players with international caps are listed in bold. denotes a player who is fully unavailable. denotes a player who will be partially unavailable.
No.NameNational teamBirth dateSalaryBatting styleBowling styleYear signedNotesBatsmen33Marnus LabuschagnePKR 5.88 croreRight-handedRight-arm leg break2026Captain75Irfan Khan NiaziPKR 2.90 croreRight-handedRight-arm medium202611Shayan JahangirPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm medium202698Sharjeel KhanPKR 60 lakhLeft-handedSlow left arm orthodox202626Saad AliPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm medium20261Tayyab ArifPKR 60 lakhRight-handed—2026Wicket-keepers153Kusal PereraPKR 3.10 croreLeft-handed—202678Usman KhanPKR 4.62 croreRight-handed—2026All-rounders63Saim AyubPKR 12.60 croreLeft-handedRight-arm off break202632Glenn MaxwellPKR 2.34 croreRight-handedRight-arm off break202615Maaz SadaqatPKR 3.50 croreLeft-handedSlow left arm orthodox202616Hassan KhanPKR 1.85 croreRight-handedSlow left arm orthodox2026Vice Captain73Hammad AzamPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm fast-medium2026107Rizwan MehmoodPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm leg break202655Ahmed HussainPKR 60 lakhLeft-handedLeft-arm leg break2026Bowlers88Akif JavedPKR 1.96 croreRight-handedLeft-arm fast202611Mohammad AliPKR 2.15 croreRight-handedRight-arm medium-fast202634Riley MeredithPKR 4.20 croreRight-handedRight-arm fast202672Hunain ShahPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm medium202684Asif MehmoodPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm medium202661Maheesh TheekshanaPKR 60 lakhRight-handedRight-arm off break2026 Source: ESPNcricinfo
Management and coaching staff PositionName Head coach Jason Gillespie Assistant coach Craig White Batting coach Hanif Malik Fielding coach Grant Bradburn Analyst Freddie Wilde Strength & Conditioning Coach Zak Martin Commercial Head Laura Russo Franchise Director & General Manager Salman Abbasi Operations Director & General Manager Iqra Farooqui Group Director & General Manager Faisal Mirza Head of Operations Talha Alvi
Captains NameFromTo Marnus Labuschagne 2026 Present 13 7 6 0 0 -0.361 53.8
References
External links
Team profile at psl-t20.com