The first-ever player auction for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is underway in Lahore, with fast bowler Naseem Shah sold to Rawalpindi for Rs86.5 million.
Following a series of rounds of bidding, which saw major players being auctioned off, including Fakhar Zaman, David Warner, and Muhammad Amir, the auction ceremony took a short recess.
Last month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the upcoming season of the country’s premier cricket league would adopt an auction model, replacing the previous draft system.
Sahibaza Farhan sold off to Sialkot Stallionz
The bidding on wicket keepers began with Azam Khan — at the base price of Rs11m. With the final bids of Rs31.5m by Sialkot Stallionz and Rs32.5m by Karachi Kings, the latter managed to secure Khan.
However, Sialkot Stallionz bagged Sahibzada Farhan against Karachi Kings, with a bid of Rs57m.
Next up were Sri Lankan cricketer Dinesh Chandimal and West Indies’ Johnson Charles, both of whom went unsold.
Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis also remained unsold.
Quetta Gladiators secured Khawaja Mohammad Nafay with a bid of Rs65m.
Team Rawalpindi bags Naseem Shah; Haris Rauf with Lahore Qalandars
At the outset of the bidding for fast bowlers, Muhammad Ali was sold off to Hyderabad Houstan Kingsmen in a last-minute bid of Rs21.5m against Rawalpindi’s Rs20.5m.
Next up was Chris Jordan, who went unsold after receiving zero bids.
Lahore Qalandars regained fast-bowler Haris Rauf at Rs76m against the Rawalpindi team’s Rs74.5m bid.
Muhammad Hasnain, at the base price of received no bids.
Karachi Kings put in the first bid for Naseem Shah at Rs65m, followed by Islamabad United bidding Rs66.5m.
After a series of back-and-forth bids between the two, Rawalpindi came in at a bid of Rs86.5m, following which Karachi Kings bowed out.
Rawalpindi also secured Muhammad Amir with the winning bid of Rs54m.
Bangladeshi spinner Rishaad Hossain was sold to Rawalpindi for a bid of Rs30m. Next up were spinners Mamoon Imtiaz, Ali Majid, Momin Qamar, Peter Hatzoglou, and Arif Yaqoob, who did not receive any bids.
Faisal Akram was sold off to Quetta Gladiators for the final bid of Rs12.5m.
David Warner goes to Karachi Kings; Lahore Qalandars retains Fakhar
The second round began with Barbadian cricketer Kyle Mayers at the base price of Rs11m, who went unsold after no bids were made.
Lahore Qalandars managed to retain Fakhar Zaman with a winning bid of Rs79.5m against Peshawar Zalmi.
New Zealand’s Colin Munroe went unsold as well. Followed closely by Fakhar’s bid, Karachi Kings bagged Australian batsman David Warner at Rs79m after a round of back-and-forth bidding with Peshawar Zalmi.
The highest bid in the round came as New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell was sold off to Rawalpindi at a bid of Rs80.5m.
South African batsman Rilee Rossouw was sold off to Quetta Gladiators for Rs55m, while Rassie van der Dussen remained unsold.
Islamabad United bags all-rounder Faheem Ashraf
The auction began with bidding on all-rounders, starting with Faheem Ashraf at the base price of Rs42m, with Islamabad United putting in the final bid at Rs85m.
The second all-rounder to be auctioned was Imaad Wasim at Rs42m, followed by Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz at the base price of Rs11m; however, no bids were made by any of the teams.
All-rounders Hussain Talat, Asif Afridi, Danish Aziz, and Muhammad Zeeshan at the base price of Rs11m received no bids as well.
Aamir Jamal was sold off to Peshawar Zalmi for a bid of Rs19m, while Lahore Qalandars bagged Usama Mir at Rs35m.
Islamabad United and Karachi Kings went neck to neck bidding for Pakistan team captain Salman Ali Agha.
However, with the final bid of Rs58.5m, Karachi Kings secured the player.
At the outset of the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PSL Salman Naseer addressed the audience.
“When the HBL PSL X ended, and the euphoria died down a little, and we looked ahead at the path in front of us, all commercial contracts had come to an end…monumental challenges lay ahead,” he said.
“PSL and PCB team have burnt out midnight oil day in and day out to get us where we are today,” Naseer said.
PCB, in a statement issued today, said that over 800 players have registered for the auction.
In January, the cricket board shared the base prices for players, with the top bracket set at Rs42 million (platinum), followed by Rs22m (diamond), Rs11m (gold), and Rs6m (silver and emerging).
The cricket board said the minimum incremental bid for each base price would follow as:
- Rs250,000 for bid amounts under Rs11m
- Rs500,000 for bid amounts under Rs22m
- Rs1m for bid amounts under Rs42m
- Rs1.5m for bid amounts above Rs42m
“The franchises are free to bid higher than the above-mentioned minimum incremental bid for each base price,” the PCB said.
Each squad will have a “minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 20 players per franchise”, while the number of foreign players would be five to seven, depending on the squad size.
PCB said that it would be mandatory for the franchises to include a minimum of three and a maximum of four foreign players in the playing XI.
Furthermore, it said that the teams would also be required to have a minimum of two uncapped Under-23 players in the squad and one in the playing XI.
The cricket board said, “Players either retained or picked in the HBL PSL 11 Players Auction will be engaged for two-year contracts with their respective franchise teams. After the HBL PSL 11, the franchise teams will be able to retain a maximum of seven players for the 12th edition of the tournament.”
“Following the HBL PSL 12, there shall be a grand auction whereby each franchise is allowed a maximum of five retentions. Any released player will return to the player auction pool,” it added.
PCB said that the franchises would also be entitled to directly sign one foreign player for the upcoming season, who has not played in the previous edition.
“The franchise team’s purse of Rs450m would be extendable to Rs505m to include the directly signed foreign players.”
“The PCB will also contribute towards the procurement of elite foreign players,” the statement said.
The tournament is scheduled to be held from March 26 to May 3. The forthcoming PSL will also feature two new franchises — Hyderabad and Sialkot — raising the total number of teams to 8.
