Jamaican Franchise Secures Talented Pakistani Batters for CPL 2026

Pakistan-born USA players Hassan Khan and Shayan Jahangir will also be part of Jamaica’s side in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) alongside rookie batter Tayyab Arif. All seven players were previously contracted by the franchise’s parent team, Hyderabad, which reached the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 final earlier this year.

This will mark Sadaqat’s first overseas T20 league appearance outside of the PSL. As an explosive left‑hand top‑order batter, he can also bowl left‑arm finger spin. He recently received call‑ups to Pakistan’s ODI and T20I squads and posted a strike rate of 178.08 in PSL 2026, the highest among 38 batters who faced at least 100 balls.

Ayub, a more established CPL name, finished as the tournament’s second‑highest run‑scorer in 2023 with 478 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 142.26 for Guyana Amazon Warriors. After transitioning from a bowler to an all‑rounder, he now employs a variety of deliveries including the carrom ball, wrong’un and flipper. He is set to return to the CPL after a three‑year absence.

Ayub, Sadaqat and Usman will be available to Kingsmen from August 19, replacing Jahangir and Arif, who will not be available for the second half of CPL 2026 due to prior commitments.

Hassan and Hunain will remain available for the entire tournament. CPL 2026 will feature a record‑equalling eight nations, with matches scheduled across Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. The competition runs from August 7 to September 20, overlapping with the Hundred, the Enterprise T20 League (ETPL) and the knockout stage of the Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Kingsmen will become the second Jamaican franchise to compete in the CPL, following the defunct Jamaica Tallawahs. The team is owned by Pakistani entrepreneur Fawad Sarvar.

During the draft, Kingsmen secured local stalwarts Andre Russell and Rovman Powell. The franchise was granted uninterrupted access to recruit top Jamaican talent. Powell will captain the side, having previously led the Tallawahs to a 2022 title. Russell and Powell enter the league after winning the 2026 Major League Cricket (MLC) championship with the Los Angeles Knight Riders.

Left‑arm wrist spinner Vitel Lawes, who impressed on his international debut against New Zealand in Guyana, is scheduled to make his CPL debut for Kingsmen next month.

Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Keemo Paul, Keacy Carty, Jediah Blades, Shaqkere Parris, Odean Smith, Vitel Lawes (Right to Match Option), Romaine Morris, Kirk McKenzie (Breakout player), Kelvin Pitman (Breakout player), Jeavor Royal (Breakout player), Maaz Sadaqat, Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Hassan Khan, Hunain Shah, Shayan Jahangir, Tayyab Arif

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