There has been a growing trend of late – Players who left PSL 2026 to play in IPL 2026. Ahead of the start of the upcoming IPL 2026 season again, multiple international stars are choosing to quit their contract in the PSL 2026 to come and play India. Since last year, the IPL and PSL windows have been clashing, which has led players to prioritise the lucrative IPL over other franchise leagues.
Let’s take a look at the names that have followed a similar pattern this year too.
The first cricketer amongst players who left PSL 2026 to play in IPL 2026 is Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani. The 29-year-old was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, who was released by the franchise owing to political reasons.
Prior to that, Muzarabani was contracted by Islamabad United for PSL 2026, replacing West Indies quick Shamar Joseph. However, he chose to withdraw from the tournament to participate in IPL 2026.
The Zimbabwe star has also been in good form recently, where he finished as the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup 2026. He took 13 scalps in six games at an economy rate of 7.88 with a best performance of 4/17 to help his side register a shock win over heavyweights Australia.
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Sri Lanka T20I captain Dasun Shanaka has also opted out of his PSL 2026 contract with Lahore Qalandars to ply his trade in the IPL. The star all-rounder was roped in by Rajasthan Royals (RR) after Sam Curran was ruled out for the season due to a groin injury.
Notably, Curran was traded in by RR alongside Ravindra Jadeja from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange for Sanju Samson.
The Aussie quick is the latest name in the list of players who left PSL 2026 to play in IPL 2026. He will replace his fellow countryman Nathan Ellis in the CSK ranks, who will miss out with a hamstring injury. While an official confirmation from the franchise regarding the same is still pending, it seems like a done deal after Spencer Johnson shared a story on his Instagram with the background song of Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ and the emojis ‘🦁💛’.
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