PSL announces player retention deadlines for existing and new franchises

Pakistan Super League (PSL) has announced the player retention deadlines for all eight of its franchises. The six existing franchises, including Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi, and Quetta Gladiators, must submit their retentions by February 3. The two new franchises, Hyderabad and Sialkot, will be allowed to finalize their retained players by February 6.

Why are there two deadlines?

The reason behind allotting the new franchises more time is to give them the opportunity to select the players released by other franchises. These players will enter the player pool on February 3, after retentions are announced.

Earlier, the PCB announced under its new rules that each team will only be able to retain four players, one from each player category: Platinum, Diamond, Gold, and Silver. The decision was made to ensure a balance between the squads of the new and existing franchises.

Multan Sultans are an exception

Multan Sultans’ case is curious, as they do not have an external owner as of yet. The franchise was set to be run in-house by the PCB for this season, though the board backtracked on its decision and put Sultans up for auction. However, the auction date is not likely to be scheduled before the player retention deadline.

For this, the PCB is understood to have formed an independent panel to oversee Multan’s retentions, which the eventual owners will use to build the remaining squad.

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