The opening match of the Pakistan Super League 2026 made headlines for all the wrong reasons when the white cricket ball began turning pink due to dye bleeding off the Hyderabad Kingsmen’s playing kit, an embarrassing blunder that went viral worldwide.
The issue came from the jerseys, as the colour from the fabric was rubbing off onto the ball whenever players tried to shine it. What started as a slight tint soon became a noticeable pink and even reddish shade.
Hyderabad Kingsmen wore a maroon kit, and the colour rubbed off on the white Kookaburra ball. The maroon tinge on the ball was visible to the naked eye from the media box as early as the end of the powerplay. Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne had already raised the matter with the umpires by the second over.
Labuschagne said he told the umpires, “What’s going on? The ball is red. It must be from the clothes or something like that. I have not seen anything like this before.” The ball had to be changed, and the incident quickly went viral on social media, causing major embarrassment for the PSL.
Fans flooded social media with mockery, with one post reading, “For the sake of God, make new branded kits, Indians are now making fun of us.” Meanwhile, the Kingsmen were hammered by 69 runs on their PSL debut by the Qalandars.
Even Hyderabad Kingsmen’s official account took a cheeky dig at themselves, posting on X: “Congratulations to the opposition on winning their first pink-ball game.”
