NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has unveiled sweeping structural changes to the Pakistan Super League, introducing a player auction system in place of the draft format that had been in use since the tournament's inception in 2016.
As part of the overhaul, the total franchise purse for player recruitment has been increased to $1.6 million, up from the previous $1.3 million, providing teams with greater financial flexibility at the auction.
PSL chief executive Salman Naseer said the reforms, implemented ahead of the league's 11th edition, are aimed at strengthening the competition's growth, enhancing its competitiveness, and underlining the league's commitment to innovation.
"The PSL will now transition from a draft to players auction system which should increase transparency and enhance the competitive balance of teams in the league," Naseer said.
He added that the changes would also open up greater earning opportunities for players.
Under the new framework, each franchise will be allowed to retain a maximum of four players, with only one retention permitted in each category. Earlier, teams could retain up to eight players from their squad, along with a mentor, a brand ambassador, and also had the option of using a Right to Match card to retain a ninth player during the draft.
The board has abolished the hiring of mentor, brand ambassador and right to match.
Naseer said that both the new teams, Hyderabad and Sialkot, will be allowed to select four players from the available player pool before the player auction.
Each franchise will also be allowed one direct signing of a foreign player who did not feature in PSL 10, enabling teams to strategically strengthen their squads with fresh international talent.
The PSL 11 is scheduled to begin from March 26, with Faisalabad now added to the list of venues.
(With PTI Inputs)
