The Karachi Kings have secured the services of England batter Jason Roy as a replacement for the UAE’s Muhammad Waseem for the ongoing 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season.
Waseem, along with his compatriot Khuzaima bin Tanveer, have been called to the UAE squad for their upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 matches in Nepal.
Roy is no stranger to the PSL. The right-handed batter has played a total of six seasons, representing Lahore Qalandars in 2016 and the Quetta Gladiators from 2017
to 2024. He has gone on to score 1,260 runs from 28 games in his career in Pakistan at a strike-rate of 146.51. Roy has scored two hundreds in the tournament, including hitting an unbeaten 145 against Peshawar Zalmi in 2023, which is the highest individual score in PSL history.
"Known for his fearless striking and vast experience in the T20 circuit, Roy is no stranger to the PSL, where he has consistently been one of the most destructive overseas batters. His arrival is set to bolster the Kings' top order as the tournament enters its most critical phase," the Karachi Kings statement read.
Waseem played five times for the Karachi Kings this season and went on to score just 86 runs at an average of 17.20 whilst striking at around 118. Roy, meanwhile, is a much more attack-minded batter and can easily replace the Emirati batter as an opener alongside South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks.
The Karachi Kings are currently fourth in the PSL standings after picking up six points from five matches. They won their first three games of the season before suffering two consecutive defeats.
Roy last played professional cricket in the Middle East, representing the ILT20-winning Desert Vipers squad. The England batter, however, had a quiet tournament, scoring just 30 runs from four innings.
The 35-year-old last represented the Three Lions in 2023 and has since lost his Central Contract. He is, however, still a regular in the Vitality Blast, representing Surrey and in The Hundred. He was most recently picked up by MI London in the first-ever Hundred auction for GBP 31,000.
