PSL 2026 player auction to be held on February 11, confirms PCB

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) first-ever player auction will take place on February 11. The decision was announced during a PCB workshop in Lahore on Sunday.

During the session, the details for bidding and retention were revealed to the attendees, including PCB and PSL officials, representatives from all eight franchises, and several prominent players.

Minimum bid increments and base prices

It was confirmed that the base prices and bidding increments will be in Pakistan Rupees. Players will enter the auction across four price brackets, with the base prices set at PKR 60 lacs, PKR 1.1 crore, PKR 2.2 crore, and PKR 4.2 crore.

The board has also fixed a minimum increment for bids in each price bracket, although franchises are at liberty to go beyond the stipulated amounts. The minimum increments are as follows:

• If the bid is below PKR 1.1 crore, each new bid must be at least PKR 250,000 higher than the previous one.
• If the bid is below PKR 2.2 crore, the increase must be at least PKR 500,000.
• If the bid is below PKR 4.2 crore, the increase must be at least PKR 1,000,000.
• Once the bidding crosses PKR 4.2 crore, every new bid must jump by at least PKR 1,500,000.

Squad composition:

As announced earlier, each team, including the two new franchises, will be allowed to retain four players, one from each category: Platinum, Diamond, Gold, and Silver.

In total, franchises can form squads including a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 20 players, with five or seven of them being foreign players. Additionally, each team must have at least two uncapped Under-23 players in the squad.

Teams will be required to include five or seven overseas players and one uncapped Under-23 player in the playing XI.

Grand auction and direct signings

Once included, either through retention or at the auction, players will remain part of the franchises under a two-year contract, that is, until the conclusion of PSL 12. Following that season, all but a maximum of five retentions per team will be released into the player pool of a grand auction.

PCB, earlier, had also allowed franchises to directly sign a foreign player, provided he was not part of the previous PSL season. For such direct signings, a team’s purse of PKR 45 crore may be extended to a maximum of PKR 50.5 crore.

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