PSL 12: PCB, key franchises agree to key operational rules including player retention, auction, salaries

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has confirmed that player auction for the 12th season of the league will take place on January 23, 2027, after all eight franchises unanimously agreed on the tournament’s key operational rules during a workshop at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The meeting, led by PSL CEO Salman Naseer on Thursday, covered player retentions, direct signings, trade windows, squad sizes and salary caps, with all eight franchises reaching an agreement on the major decisions.

The league has set January 13, 2027, as the deadline for player retentions, ten days before the auction. The date will allow franchises to assess performances in the National T20 Silver tournament and follow ongoing action in the National T20 Gold competition before finalising their squads.

Each franchise can retain a maximum of seven players, including its Direct Signing. However, any franchise opting to retain all seven players must release one player from the highest price tier of the previous auction into the general player pool.

The HBL PSL 12 auction will be only the second in the tournament’s history.

Under the agreed financial framework, each franchise will have a salary cap of PKR 45 crore, approximately $1.6 million, for the auction. The cap will increase to PKR 50.5 crore for franchises that enact Direct Signing, retain their previous season’s Direct Signing, or do both.

All eight franchises must spend at least PKR 36.5 crore, equivalent to approximately $1.3 million.

Meanwhile, the deadline for Direct Signings is November 23, 2026. Each franchise can directly sign one marquee player who did not feature in either PSL 10 or PSL 11.

Speaking after the workshop, Salman Naseer highlighted the unanimous agreement among franchises and the importance of linking domestic cricket performances with the PSL selection process.

“What made today remarkable was not just what was agreed, it was how it was agreed. Every franchise engaged with complete openness, the auction rules were worked through line by line, and we finished with unanimous buy-in across all eight sides,” he said.

“The retention deadline has been set to run alongside live National T20 cricket, so domestic performers have a genuine shot at influencing franchise squads in real time.”

PSL also indicated that it will make further major announcements in the coming weeks.