PSL 2025 Auction Date, Players Draft, Rules, And Category

PSL is just around the corner and all the preparations for PSL’s new season to begin with glitz and glamor are in full swing. In the same way, the teams and squads are finalized by the owners and the franchises in the PSL 10 Auction and Draft scheduled on 13 December 2024.

PSL consists of franchise-based teams with players from different countries. This year there is a top list of players who have joined PSL on massive contracts. Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, the league is a single entity in which investors own and control each franchise.

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PSL 9 Auction And Draft- All the Details

PSL Draft 2025 is expected to be held on 13 December 2024, so franchises have to pick players from the draft only.

This year PCB gave the auction model to franchises to attract the top international cricketers from all over the world, but franchises rejected the auction model. Six teams will be participating in the PSL 9 Draft this year.  

TeamCity/ProvinceOwnerHome Ground/VenueFoundedCaptainCoach
Islamabad UnitedIslamabad, Capital TerritoryLeonine Global Sports(Ali Naqvi & Amna Naqvi)Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Islamabad2015Shadab KhanAzhar Mahmood
Karachi KingsKarachi, SindhARY Group(Salman Iqbal, CEO)National Stadium, Karachi2015TBDPeter Moores
Lahore QalandarsLahore, PunjabQatar Lubricants Company(Fawad Rana, MD)Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore2015Shaheen AfridiAaqib Javed
Multan SultansMultan, PunjabAlamgir Khan TareenMultan Cricket Stadium, Multan2017Mohammad RizwanAndy Flower
Peshawar ZalmiPeshawar, Khyber PakhtunkhwaHaier Pakistan(Javed Afridi, CEO)Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar2015Babar AzamDaren Sammy
Quetta GladiatorsQuetta, BalochistanOmar Associates(Nadeem Omar, Director)Bugti Stadium, Quetta2015Sarfaraz AhmedMoin Khan

PSL 10 2025 Auction Date and Time

PSL 9 is scheduled to be held from February 13 to March 19. In a press release, PCB announced the PSL Auction date and time of the PSL 9 draft. PCB will conduct the PSL draft on 13th December at 5 pm.

PSL Draft Model

The PSL Draft will be held to determine the star-studded squad of the six teams for the 9th edition of PSL on 13 December 2024. PSL follows a draft model instead of an auction. What is the difference between the two is worth noting. 

“Auction model,” like in IPL Auction, is regarded with teams free to bid on the players of their choosing from an allocated pool, with the winning bid becoming the player’s salary for the season.

PSL follows a “draft model” with the teams given a pick each to select players for each of its Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Emerging categories. Players of the same categories get paid equal amounts regardless of their stature in the cricketing world.

PCB is adamant about the auction instead of the draft model for the event’s eighth edition. Discussions were also taking place over the hybrid model of auction plus draft, but the franchises had already rejected it. An auction can lead to higher wages than a draft system of predetermined salaries.

The PCB is set to raise the player wage caps and implement a hybrid auction/draft approach in which teams would be permitted four retention and four rounds of bidding, with the final 12 players being chosen in a draft.

The Draft Rules

The rules guiding the retention and trading of players in the Pakistan Super League are as below:

  1. Each team can have a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 18 players in their squad.
  2. The team combination consisted of three platinum, three diamonds, three gold, five silver, two emerging, and two players in the supplementary category.
  3. The 16-player squad must comprise five foreign and eleven local players. An 18-player squad will be formed of six foreign and twelve local players or five foreign and thirteen local players.
  4. The playing squad of eleven players must contain a minimum of three foreign and a maximum of four foreign players.
  5. Each franchise was allowed one wildcard pick through which they could pick a player from the Silver, Gold, Diamond, or Platinum category.
  6. All teams have been allowed to retain up to 10 of their old players.
  7. Teams are given the go-ahead to take new players directly into their block.
  8. New players, without any exception, must come in through the draft before they can be picked.
  9. All players picked last season will be picked as the PSL authority has updated their group. They shall be called up if they are needed.
  10. Unconditionally, all players who were free from any team’s engagement last season will have to wait until their list is released later.
  11. Teams will also be able to pick their players in a pre-arranged order. It will be based on rankings of the preceding year. Very soon, there will be an announcement concerning picking players. But the system of picking players may likely be in random order.

PSL Players Category Contracts

Each year, PSL conducts player drafts where local and international players are auctioned to various teams. Each player participating in the PSL is categorized according to their “value.” PCB offers 5 types of contracts to the PSL player. 

In PSL 2025 Auction, From Platinum class players at the top end to Emerging class players at the bottom. The player’s category generally determines the league’s salary. Franchises make their picks in a pre-decided order, and the players are divided into various categories.

Supplementary players are picked by teams but are not paid unless they join the squad for the tournament, at which point their contracts will commence. For Supplementary players, there is no contractual base salary.

Franchises can buy back a maximum of one player released on the draft day by paying the respective fee against each category.

  • Platinum ($130,000-$170,000)
  • Diamond ($60,000-$80,000)
  • Gold ($40,000-$50,000)
  • Silver ($15,000-$25,000)
  • Emerging ($7,500)
  • Supplementary ($50,000)

More than 425 players from 32 countries are registered for the draft of the eighth edition of PSL. For the emerging category, players should be under 23.

ContractPSL Salary Notes
Platinum2,30,44,000 (PKR)$170,000Each team can pick 3 players from this category
Diamond1,15,22,000 (PKR)$80,000Teams can choose 3 players from this category
Gold82,30,000 (PKR)$50,000A total of 3 players can be taken from this category as well
Silver41,15,000 (PKR)$25000Franchises can choose 5 players from this category
Emerging16,46,000 (PKR)$7,500Each franchise can sign up to 2 emerging players

Platinum

Platinum is the premium category in the Pakistan Super League. It includes the PSL Auction’s highest-paid players in the league. This category of players, like all others, earns the same amount of money, which is, in this case, 170.000 USD. 

Each team can pick only three players from this category when drafting. This category also includes all the star players in the league and the world. During the 2024 draft, 18 players from this class were selected.

PlayersTeamsSalary (PKR)
Kieron PollardPeshawar Zalmi2,30,44,000
Babar AzamKarachi Kings2,30,44,000
Dale SteynIslamabad United2,30,44,000
Colin IngramIslamabad United2,30,44,000
Muhammad HafeezLahore Qalandars2,30,44,000
Mohammad AmirKarachi Kings2,30,44,000
Wahab RiazPeshawar Zalmi2,30,44,000
Hassan RazaPeshawar Zalmi2,30,44,000
Chris LynnLahore Qalandars2,30,44,000
Sarfaraz AhmedQuetta Gladiators2,30,44,000

Diamond

Diamond is the second most expansive category of players in the league. Each player from this category earns 85.000 USD. Each franchise can pick up to three players in this category. 

This is the second-best category of players in the league as well, and a total of 20 players have been in this category during the latest draft in PSL.

PlayersTeamsSalary (PKR)
Faheem AshrafIslamabad United1,15,22,000
Asif AliIslamabad United1,15,22,000
Imad WasimKarachi Kings1,15,22,000
Iftikhar AhmedKarachi Kings1,15,22,000
David WieseLahore Qalandars1,15,22,000
Shaheen AfridiLahore Qalandars1,15,22,000
Usman ShanwariLahore Qalandars1,15,22,000
Shahid AfridiMultan Sultans1,15,22,000
Kamran AkmalPeshawar Zalmi1,15,22,000
Shane WatsonQuetta Gladiators1,15,22,000

Gold

The third salary category on this list is reserved for the Gold players. Same as was the case with the previous two categories, each franchise has the right to pick up to three players in the category, but in the latest draft, Lahore Qalandars get an extra in the replacement round.

Every player in this category gets a 50.000 USD salary, and the category has many of the top players worldwide, including Alex Hales and Shahid Afridi. During the latest draft, 19 players, including five foreigners and fourteen locals, are selected in this category.

PlayerTeamSalary (PKR)
Luke RonchiIslamabad United82,30,000
Hussain TalatIslamabad United82,30,000
Aamer YaminKarachi Kings82,30,000
Sohail AkhtarLahore Qalandars82,30,000
Haris RaufLahore Qalandars82,30,000
James VinceMultan Sultans82,30,000
Junaid KhanMultan Sultans82,30,000
Darren SammyPeshawar Zalmi82,30,000
Imam-ul HaqPeshawar Zalmi82,30,000
Umer AkmalQuetta Gladiators82,30,000

Silver

Silver is the second least expensive category in the Pakistan Super League. In this category, each player earns 25.000 USD. The category includes all the remaining above-average players in the league.

During the latest PSL draft, a total of 40 players were selected in this category, and out of these 40, 13 players are from foreign countries, and the remaining are local.

PlayerTeamSalary
Ammad ButtIslamabad United41,15,000
Rizwan HussainIslamabad United41,15,000
Mohammad MusaIslamabad United41,15,000
Usama MirKarachi Kings41,15,000
Salman ButtLahore Qalandars41,15,000
Shan MasoodMultan Sultans41,15,000
Ali ShafiqMultan Sultans41,15,000
Umar AminPeshawar Zalmi41,15,000
Naseem ShahQuetta Gladiators41,15,000
Ahsan AliQuetta Gladiators41,15,000

Emerging Players

Emerging is the last and the least expensive category of the players in the PSL. Each player from this tier earns 7.500 USD, a category created to bring the rising talent of the league some earnings and provide them with more opportunities. 

According to the PSL draft rules, each franchise in the league must pick at least two players from this category, and during the latest draft, 16 players were selected and were rookies in the league during the last season.

Player NameTeamSalary (USD)
Faisal AkramKarachi Kings$7,500
Qasim AkramKarachi Kings$7,500
Mohammad Taha KhanKarachi Kings$7,500
Mubasir KhanIslamabad United$7,500
Zeeshan ZameerIslamabad United$7,500
Mohammad HurairaIslamabad United$7,500
Zaman KhanLahore Qalandars$7,500
Maaz KhanLahore Qalandars$7,500
Muhammad Ashar QureshiQuetta Gladiators$7,500
Abdul Wahid BangalzaiQuetta Gladiators$7,500
Ghulam MudassarQuetta Gladiators$7,500
SirajuddinPeshawar Zalmi$7,500
Muhammad Amir KhanPeshawar Zalmi$7,500
Mohammad UmerPeshawar Zalmi$7,500
Abbas AfridiMultan Sultan$7,500
Amir AzmatMultan Sultan$7,500

Draft pick order

This round will go through a discussion and drawing process. As per the draw results, the following is the final pick order. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced that Lahore Qalandars would have the first pick. The total purse for each team was capped at $1.2 million.

  • First Pick:  Lahore Qalandars
  • Second Pick:  Quetta Gladiators
  • Third Pick:  Multan Sultans
  • Fourth Pick:  Karachi Kings
  • Fifth Pick: Islamabad United
  • Sixth Pick:  Peshawar Zalmi

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the highest price in PSL?

In PSL, players are categorized into five categories according to their value. Their salaries depend on the category in which they fall. The highest-paid players belong to the platinum category. Their salary ranges from $130,000-$170,000.

How much does it cost to buy a team in PSL?

PSL has no auction system; a draft model is followed. In the draft model, players are bought and selected for the different categories. The players belonging to the same category are paid an equal amount. Team owners can spend $1.2 million to buy players for their teams.  

Which is bigger, IPL or PSL?

IPL started in 2008, and PSL made its debut in 2015. Both leagues are considered the most significant cricket leagues in the world. IPL is more extensive than PSL regarding team count, revenue generation, players’ salaries, prize money, and sponsorships. PSL is yet to be developed due to various factors. 

Epilogue

PSL is now recognized globally. Every year, new players and top cricketers show their talent in PSL. All the credit goes to PSL Auction 2025. Although PSL follows the draft model instead of the auction, the players are paid honorably, so more and more investors are interested in investing in this profitable league. Now, PSL’s success knows no boundaries in the future.

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