Punjab’s first franchise-based T20 league starts on August 30 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. The Sher-e-Punjab T20 League 2026 runs until September 13 with 27 matches across 15 days.
Six teams. Six India internationals as marquee captains. Every player Punjab-born.
The Punjab Cricket Association built this tournament around one rule: only players from the state qualify. No overseas signings. No out-of-state recruits. A pool of 450 cricketers from Punjab went through an auction on August 9 in Chandigarh, and six franchise squads of up to 20 players each emerged from it.
| Team | City | Marquee Captain | Key Auction Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fazilka Falcons | Fazilka | Shubman Gill | Sanvir Singh (Rs 13.20 lakh) |
| Ludhiana Lions | Ludhiana | Arshdeep Singh | Krish Bhagat |
| Amritsar Soormas | Amritsar | Abhishek Sharma | Naman Dhir (Rs 10.80 lakh) |
| Jalandhar Warriors | Jalandhar | Prabhsimran Singh | Sukhdeep Bajwa (Rs 6 lakh) |
| Mohali Kings | Mohali | Ramandeep Singh | Anmolpreet Singh (Rs 8.20 lakh) |
| Bathinda Royals | Bathinda | Gurnoor Brar | Harnoor Singh (Rs 7 lakh) |
Each franchise received a Rs 45 lakh salary purse. Marquee players were pre-assigned at Rs 10 lakh each. The remaining slots filled through auction across five price tiers: icon players at Rs 1.50 lakh base, Punjab first-class players at Rs 1 lakh, under-23 at Rs 75,000, under-19 at Rs 50,000, and district-level players at Rs 20,000.
Sanvir Singh, an all-rounder, drew the highest bid at Rs 13.20 lakh from Fazilka Falcons. Naman Dhir went to Amritsar Soormas for Rs 10.80 lakh. Anmolpreet Singh fetched Rs 8.20 lakh from Mohali Kings.
“Obviously, winning the trophy is something we will be aiming for, but for me, success will also be about seeing young players from our team grow during the tournament.”
Shubman Gill, pre-tournament interview, August 23, 2026
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The league stage has 24 matches with two games daily. Group A contains Mohali Kings, Fazilka Falcons, and Jalandhar Warriors. Group B has Bathinda Royals, Amritsar Soormas, and Ludhiana Lions. Each team plays every other team in its group twice and every team from the opposite group once.
The top four teams advance to the knockouts. Qualifier 1 on September 11 (first place vs second place), Eliminator on September 12 (third vs fourth), and the final on September 13. All matches at the same venue.
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Why This Edition Is Different
The Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup existed before. BLV Blasters won the 2023 and 2024 editions. But those were selector-picked squads with no auction, no franchise structure, and no salary system.
The 2026 edition is a complete restart. City-based franchises. A formal auction. A salary purse. Player categories with base prices. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann unveiled the league on August 8, framing it as a bridge between age-group cricket and IPL contracts.
“The competition is going to be tough because every team has quality players. There are no easy games in T20 cricket, so we will have to be at our best from the first match.”
Arshdeep Singh, pre-tournament interview, August 22, 2026
Punjab currently has 21 players featuring in the IPL. The state has produced Shubman Gill (India’s Test and ODI captain), Arshdeep Singh, and Abhishek Sharma at the international level. What it lacked was a structured domestic T20 platform connecting district cricket to professional franchise cricket. This league fills that gap.
PCA President Amarjit Singh Mehta put it simply: “We want to give players from every part of Punjab the opportunity to step onto this iconic ground.”
Insider Read
A district-level cricketer on a Rs 20,000 contract will share a dressing room with Shubman Gill for two weeks. That is not a motivational story. That is a technical education.
When a young bowler watches Arshdeep Singh prepare for a match, he does not learn inspiration. He learns how a left-arm pacer plans his lengths for a specific ground, how he adjusts his field for different batters, how he stays composed when the last over costs 14. That knowledge transfers only through proximity. No coaching manual replaces sitting three seats away from an India international who is studying match footage before a game. The Sher-e-Punjab T20 League puts those two players in the same squad, under the same pressure, on the same scorecard. For a district-level player, that exposure in two weeks is worth more than two seasons of age-group cricket.
Where to watch: Broadcasting details have not been officially confirmed by the PCA. Reports indicate Sony Sports Ten 5 (HD and SD) for television and Sony LIV for streaming.
