PSL shifts from draft system to auction amid major changes to its framework

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that the PSL will shift from the traditional draft system to an auction model from this season, which will be the league’s eleventh, onwards. The shift, along with several other landmark changes, comes after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the subject.

It was earlier reported that many franchisees were in favour of adopting the auction system to attract bigger names from around the world.

Pre-auction: retentions and direct signings

Under the new changes, each team will be allowed to retain only four players, one player per category: Platinum, Diamond, Gold, and Silver, instead of the eight retentions allowed previously, which included a Brand Ambassador, a mentor, and an option for a ninth retention using the Right-to-Match card. However, with the retention limit halved, all these categories have been abolished.

The new teams, Hyderabad and Sialkot, which cannot retain players, will be allowed to select four players from the auction.

In addition to retentions ahead of the auction, each team will also be allowed to directly sign a player who was not a part of the previous PSL edition. 

Salary purse and a new venue

This is the first time the league has introduced this option, which means that before the auction, each team will be allowed to fill five spots in its squad, with the salary purse for each team also increased from USD 1.1 million to USD 1.6 million.

PSL was earlier confirmed to begin on March 26 across five venues, with Faisalabad joining Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, and Karachi as the hosts.

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