First Ever PSL Auction

LAHORE: The much awaited Pakistan Super League season 11 players auction took place at the Expo Centre on Wednesday, marking a historic shift in the league’s player recruitment system.

For the first time since the tournament began in 2016, the PSL replaced its traditional draft format with an open auction model. The change comes ahead of the league’s expansion, with two new franchises, Sialkot Stallionz and Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen, joining the competition. With the addition of these teams, the existing six franchises were allowed to retain only four players each from their previous squads, making the auction even more competitive.

A total of 879 local and international cricketers registered for the auction. The Pakistan Cricket Board divided them into five categories: Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Emerging. Each franchise was given a maximum salary purse of USD 1.6 million to assemble their squads.

Unlike the draft system, the auction format allowed franchises to bid openly for players without a fixed selection order, creating intense bidding contests throughout the event.

Auction Rules and Structure

Player Retentions
Each franchise could retain up to four players from their PSL 10 squad, with no more than one player from each category. The two new franchises were also permitted to retain up to four players from the released players pool. The cost of retained players was deducted from the overall salary cap of PKR 45 crore.

Squad Composition
Teams must form squads consisting of a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 20 players.

Foreign Player Limit
A 16 member squad may include up to five overseas players. Squads of 17 or 18 players may include a maximum of six foreign cricketers. Teams selecting 19 or 20 players are also allowed six overseas players.

Local Player Requirement
Each team must include at least two uncapped local players under the age of 23.

Base Prices and Bid Increments

The base prices were set as follows:

Platinum category at PKR 4.2 crore
Diamond category at PKR 2.2 crore
Gold category at PKR 1.1 crore
Silver and Emerging categories at PKR 60 lakh

Minimum incremental bids were fixed according to category value. Bids below PKR 1.1 crore increased in steps of PKR 2.5 lakh. Bids below PKR 2.2 crore increased by PKR 5 lakh. Bids below PKR 4.2 crore went up in increments of PKR 10 lakh, while any bid above PKR 4.2 crore increased by PKR 15 lakh.

Key Picks in the Auction

During the accelerated round, several notable signings were made. Quetta Gladiators secured Tom Curran for PKR 4.2 crore, while Peshawar Zalmi picked Kusal Mendis for PKR 4.2 crore and Michael Bracewell for the same amount. Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen signed Riley Meredith for PKR 4.2 crore. Karachi Kings acquired Adam Zampa in the Platinum category for PKR 4.5 crore.

Islamabad United signed Imad Wasim for PKR 2.2 crore and Mohammad Wasim Jr for PKR 4.10 crore. Rawalpindi made some major investments including Naseem Shah for PKR 8.65 crore and Daryl Mitchell for PKR 8.05 crore. Lahore Qalandars secured Fakhar Zaman for PKR 7.95 crore, while Karachi Kings brought in David Warner for PKR 7.90 crore.

Among other significant signings, Islamabad United picked Faheem Ashraf for PKR 8.50 crore, Quetta Gladiators signed Khawaja Nafay for PKR 6.50 crore, and Sialkot Stallionz secured Sahibzada Farhan for PKR 5.70 crore.

The auction also saw a number of emerging and domestic players being picked across categories, reflecting franchises’ focus on building balanced squads with a mix of experience and youth.

Retentions and Direct Signings

Ahead of the auction, franchises retained four core players each to maintain continuity while ensuring fairness for the two new teams.

Lahore Qalandars retained Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza and Mohammad Naeem, and also brought in Mustafizur Rahman as a direct overseas signing.

Karachi Kings kept Hasan Ali, Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah and Saad Baig, while signing Moeen Ali directly.

Islamabad United retained Shadab Khan, Salman Irshad and Andries Gous, and added Devon Conway as a direct signing.

Peshawar Zalmi maintained Babar Azam, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad and Ali Raza, while securing Aaron Hardie directly.

Quetta Gladiators retained Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Hasan Nawaz and Shamyl Hussain, and added Spencer Johnson as a direct pick.

Rawalpindi kept Mohammad Rizwan, Sam Billings, Zaman Khan and Yasir Khan.

Sialkot Stallionz retained Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Ahmed Daniyal and Saad Masood, along with direct signing Steve Smith.

Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen secured Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Akif Javed and Maaz Sadaqat as retained players, and signed Marnus Labuschagne directly.

The PSL 11 auction has set the stage for what promises to be one of the most competitive seasons in the league’s history, with revamped squads, fresh rivalries and an exciting new auction dynamic replacing the traditional draft system.