Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has proposed introducing a full player auction system for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League. He also called on franchise owners to increase players’ remuneration, sources said on Saturday.
Naqvi floated the proposal while chairing a meeting of the PSL Governing Council at the National Cricket Academy on Friday. During the session, he suggested adopting an auction-based mechanism for players, similar to the process used for awarding new franchises.
Sources indicate that the PCB chairman argued that rising market values of PSL teams necessitate upward revisions to players’ salaries to reflect the league’s commercial growth. He also emphasised that the two newly inducted teams deserve equal opportunities in player selection.
Read: HBL PSL 11 Start Date : Pakistan Super League Begins March 26
Player retention policies will be further discussed at an upcoming working committee meeting, as the league considers structural changes ahead of PSL 11. The Governing Council currently weighs multiple options, including a full auction model, a hybrid system combining elements of an auction and a draft called a “drauction”, and the possibility of allowing direct player signings.
Representatives from all eight franchises, along with senior PCB and PSL officials, attended the meeting. Council members welcomed the new franchises from Sialkot and Hyderabad at the start of the session and praised the successful New Teams Auction as a major milestone in the league’s expansion.
The meeting also confirmed that PSL 11 begins on Thursday, March 26. A working group formed to deliberate on the proposed reforms will reconvene before the Governing Council meets again to finalise decisions.
The upcoming season will mark a significant phase in the PSL’s evolution, with the league expanding from six to eight teams for the first time.
