The Pakistan Super League will hold its first-ever player auction this year, ahead of season 11. Here's all you need to know about the system.
Last week, the league announced a host of structural changes that would take effect from the upcoming season, partly necessitated by the league's expansion to eight teams, with the two new sides based in Hyderabad and Sialkot. Chief among these was the introduction of a player auction for the first time in the league's history, moving away from the pre-existing draft system.
On Sunday (January 25), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) conducted a workshop in Lahore to finalise the rules for the auction. Present at the event were PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi, PSL CEO Salman Naseer and representatives from the eight franchises, as well as members of Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad.
When will the player auction for PSL season 11 take place?
Originally reported to take place around the end of January, the date for the auction has now been officially set at February 11.
What are the rules for the PSL player auction?
In their earlier announcement, the PCB stated that each franchise could retain up to four players, one from each category. At the time, it was unclear how the categories would work under an auction system. Previously, in the draft, teams would simply select players based on the category.
Now, these have been split by base price in the auction. The four categories by player base price are PKR 4.2 crore, PKR 2.2 crore, PKR 1.1 crore and PKR 0.6 crore. Furthermore, the minimum bidding increments for each category are outlined as:
- PKR 0.025 crore for bid amounts under PKR 1.1 crore
- PKR 0.050 crore for bid amounts under PKR 2.2 crore
- PKR 0.100 crore for bid amounts under PKR 4.2 crore
- PKR 0.150 crore for bid amounts above PKR 4.2 crore
The unpicked players will then be made available to the two new teams, and they can then sign four players each as well. The purse limit for each franchise at the auction is PKR 45 crore (~ USD 1.6 million). However, teams are allowed to directly sign one overseas player who did not take part in the PSL last year; the purse is extendable towards PKR 50.5 crore to do so, with the PCB also willing to contribute towards the signing of overseas players.
What are the restrictions on squad sizes and playing XIs?
Each team is required to pick a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 20 players, with the number of foreign players between five and seven. Franchises must name at least three and a maximum of four foreign players in their playing XI for every match. They must also have at least two uncapped U23 players in the squad, and at least one in each playing XI.
Every player signed for PSL 11 will be on a two-year contract with the franchise. After this season, each team will be allowed to retain a maximum of seven players. After PSL 12 in 2027, there will be a grand auction where only five players can be retained.
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