PSL players auction on 11th Feb: Key rules every franchise must follow

LAHORE: The Pakistan Super League has confirmed that the player auction for its 11th edition will be held on 11th February and released the key rules that every franchise will need to follow.

Franchises will have to bid a minimum of 15 lakh PKR for players in the top bracket, while players in the lowest bracket will have a minimum additional bid of Rs2.5 lac.

Each team is required to include at least two uncapped under-23 players in their squad and must feature at least one of them in the playing XI.

Players selected in the auction will be eligible to sign two-year contracts with their respective franchises.

In PSL 12, franchises can retain up to seven players from their previous squads and after PSL 12, a Grand Auction will allow each team to retain five players, with all released players entering the PSL 13 auction pool.

Each franchise has been given a purse of Rs450 million, while the purse for acquiring elite foreign players can go up to Rs550 million.

The deadline given for the submission of technical bids for potential new owners is Jan 30, with an auction for the franchise to be held at some point before the player auction, according to PCB cricket policy.

The announcement sets the stage for an exciting auction with fans eagerly waiting to see which domestic and international stars will join their favourite franchises.

Earlier, an HBL PSL auction workshop was held at Gaddafi Stadium, where stakeholders were given a detailed briefing on the players’ auction process ahead of the upcoming season.

This season, the player categories remain structured to ensure a balanced and competitive draft.

Platinum

The draft included Platinum as a category for top-tier players with the highest base prices.

Diamond

Players who are the high-value stars just below Platinum are being put here under Diamond category of the edition’s draft.

Gold

The Gold category is for the mid-tier players.

Silver

Silver for squad-depth players with solid experience in the cricket competition.

Emerging

Emerging category is being given to young local talent.

Supplementary

Supplementary for backup or replacement players.

As the draft for the PSL 11th edition has taken shape here today, fans are particularly excited this year because the league will expand from six to eight teams, offering opportunities for more talented players to showcase their skills on the big stage.