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PSL introduces two team sheets at toss to tackle dew, first used by Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen captains Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne.
A snapshot from the PSL press conference.
(X screengrab)
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has brought in an interesting rule change to offset the advantage that any time might have because of the dew. Each team captain is now allowed to bring two team sheets to the toss and pick one based on whose favor the coin falls.
In T20s around the world, team sheets are exchanged before the toss, thus confirming the playing 11s for each team barring any late injury concerns. By allowing two team sheets, the PSL is allowing the teams to be better prepared for dewy conditions, which usually come into effect in the second innings.
The law is mentioned under PSL’s playing conditions for ‘Nomination and Replacement of Players’.
It states: “Before the toss, each captain may submit two (2) different XI lineups in writing to the PSL Match Referee. Each lineup must include 11 players and a maximum of 4 substitute fielders (subject to Clause 1.2.5). After the toss, each captain must finalise one of the two submitted lineups by signing the selected team sheet. Once the final lineup has been nominated, no player listed in the selected playing eleven may be changed before the start of the match without the consent of the opposing captain.”
This rule was in action pm Thursday when the captains of Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne, walked out with two team sheets each for the toss ahead of the PSL 2026 opener.
Dew has been a major point of frustration for captains in sub-continent conditions. The moisture in the outfield makes the ball difficult to grip for spinners, and even somewhat neutralises the pacers’ slower variations, while the outfield gets quicker, thus making batting easier. In some grounds, this makes toss a huge factor in deciding the result, because the teams batting second get an advantage.
In the PSL, the team that is asked to bowl second now has the chance to, for instance, remove an extra spinner for a pacer. At the same time, the team that wins the toss and chooses to bat second can pick an extra bowler to be aggressive in the first innings, trusting a shorter batting lineup to chase in the second innings.
March 26, 2026, 23:53 IST
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