Hyderabad Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne wouldn't have imagined himself answering questions on a bizarre incident on the field in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 opener. Labuschagne expressed that he was shocked to see the white ball turn pink after coming in contact with Hyderabad Kingsmen's maroon clothing. Players often rub the ball to shine it but the quality of Kingsmen’s kit seemed to have caused the issue.
"I did say to the umpires after the second over, 'What's going on? The ball is all red'," Labuschange said in the post-match press conference.
While Labuschagne was shocked to see the quality of kits, he believes that the issue will be sorted out before their next game which is on March 29 against Quetta Gladiators.
"Obviously, it must be from the clothes or something like that. I have not seen anything like that [before], but I have seen the ball take colour from the paint of the pads or from something off the bat. I am sure we will sort it out before our next game on Sunday," said the Australian batter.
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Meanwhile, Lahore Qalandars’s Haris Rauf wasn’t sure that the ball turned pinkish due to clothing or hit one of the empty seats at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Rauf also said that he wouldn’t have batted and asked for a ball change if he was at the crease.
"I am not certain who got the ball changed," Rauf said. "We cannot ascertain whether it was because of the kit. It may well have been because of the seats as the ball flew out of the ground quite a few times. As long as the batters continued to see the ball clearly, they batted. They may have changed it when it got difficult to pick. Had I gone to the crease [to bat], I would have had it changed first ball."
Big loss for Labuschagne’s Kingsmen
The PSL 2026 opener turned out to be one-sided. Qalandars posted 199/6, thanks to opener Fakhar Zaman's 53, Haseebullah Khan's unbeaten 40 and cameos from Sikandar Raza, skipper Shaneen Afridi. Kingsmen faltered in the run chase. They managed to score 130 with Labuschagne top-scoring. Ubaid Shah, Raza and Rauf claimed two wickets each.