Sri Lanka all-rounder Dasun Shanaka and Zimbabwe’s towering pacer Blessing Muzarabani have ditched their respective Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises to join the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has promised to take an action against the duo but it’s worth comparing the salary drawn by Shanaka and Muzarabani in IPL and PSL.
Why did Dasun Shanaka and Blessing Muzarabani ditch PSL 2026 for IPL 2026?
While both Shanaka (Lahore Qalandars) and Muzarabani (Islamabad United) have not issued any official word, the duo likely forgo their deals with PSL for a greater sum form the Indian T20 league. While Shanaka was earning PKR 75 lakh (₹25 lakh) from the Qalandars, Muzarabani joined Islamabad for a sum of PKR 1.1 crore (approximately ₹36.64 lakh). By contrast, the Sri Lankan T20 captain has landed a ₹2 crore deal with the Rajasthan Royals, replacing the injured England all-rounder Sam Curran. Muzarabani, who was announced as Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, has seen his amount surge to ₹75 lakh.
Shanaka has played a couple of IPL matches for the Gujarat Titans in the 2023 edition but Muzarabani is yet to make his debut in the cash-rich league. The 29-year-old was included in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) squad as a short-term replacement for Lungi Ngidi in IPL 2025 but didn’t get a game.
IPL 2026 to kick off with Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing the SunRisers Hyderabad
Meanwhile, the 2026 edition of the IPL will kickstart with reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and SunRisers Hyderabad facing one another at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
SRH squad: Pat Cummins(C), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Salil Arora, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Brydon Carse, Shivang Kumar, Krainis Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Shivam Mavi.
RCB IPL 2026 squad: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Jordan Cox, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Tushara, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Yash Dayal.
