Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne has opened up about the emotional journey that made his debut Pakistan Super League season with Hyderabad Kingsmen, one of the most unexpected chapters of his career.
In a recent interview, Labuschagne explained what drew him to the Kingsmen and why the experience hit him harder than he expected.
“To get the opportunity to go and play T20 cricket is something that I haven’t done much. Once that sort of came about and they wanted me to captain, I’m a very invested person anyway. I haven’t played for many teams. I’ve only played for one county team, one Big Bash team, one state team. For them to sort of take a punt on me, not having played much T20 cricket in that format, not necessarily setting in the light. So I felt grateful for the opportunity.”
That gratitude quickly turned into something deeper once he landed in Pakistan and began understanding the franchise from the inside.
Hyderabad Kingsmen were one of two expansion teams entering the PSL for the first time in 2026, with Jason Gillespie appointed as head coach. The ownership group, led by Pakistani-American businessman Fawad Sarwar, had paid PKR 1.75 billion per year for the franchise rights.
Labuschagne says learning that story changed the way he approached the job.
“When I was there, it was just about getting behind the story of where Hyderabad’s come, the ownership where that’s come from, the history,” he said.
“I think it just made you care about the people and you could clearly see they cared about cricket and they cared about more than just winning and losing. They cared about the individuals they selected and how they wanted the team to work,” he added.
He described his working relationship with Gillespie, the ownership and the support staff as genuinely collaborative rather than transactional.
“Just working together with Diz and the ownership and the coaching staff to create something special, which the owners and the people that were involved put together,” he said.
The team’s structure, he explained, was also a deliberate tactical bet that paid off. Kingsmen fielded what Labuschagne called a “really unique lineup,” built around batting depth and all-round flexibility.
“We were playing eight batters. We’re playing three quicks and then all our spinners were all-rounders. So we were able to bat till eight and each game different people stood up,” he said.
“It allowed you to carry guys and win games. And then when those guys became hot, then we were able to get 244, chase 220, and all of a sudden, that real team element, that unique thing that we created there sort of unfolded.”
That team element, and the ride it produced, left the biggest mark on him.
“It was the ride that the team was on,” he said.
Hyderabad lost their first four league matches before winning their first game against Karachi Kings. They eventually qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth in the league stage with 10 points.
From there, they beat Multan Sultans by eight wickets in Eliminator 1, then edged Islamabad United by two runs in a last-ball thriller in Eliminator 2.
Seamer Hunain Shah held his nerve in the final over, bowling yorker after yorker to defend six runs and seal the win. Shah was chaired off the ground by his teammates after the final ball.
After the Eliminator 2 win, with the Gaddafi Stadium erupting around him, Labuschagne was seen covering his eyes in tears.
In the final, played on May 3 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Kingsmen lost to Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets, finishing as runners-up in their debut season.
