The first-ever player auction for the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is currently underway in Lahore, with the eight franchises bidding on batsmen following the conclusion of the first round, which saw all-rounders auctioned off.

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.

David Warner goes to Karachi Kings

The second round began with Barbadian cricketer Kyle Mayers at the base price of Rs1.1m, who went unsold after no bids were made.

New Zealand’s Colin Munroe went unsold as well. Karachi Kings bagged Australian batsman David Warner at Rs79m after a round of back-and-forth bidding with Peshawar Zalmi.

South African batsman Rilee Rossouw was sold off to Quetta Gladiators for Rs55m.

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 Rs1.1m; 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 Rs1.1m received no bids as well.

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.

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HOBART: Pakistan’s hockey team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to world number five Australia in the FIH Pro League on Tuesday, denied by a controversial video review in the dying seconds of a gripping encounter here at the Tasmania Hockey Centre.

The Green Shirts, showing tremendous spirit after a difficult first leg, fought back from two goals down only to see win snatched away.

Australia’s Tim Brand had given the hosts a commanding first-half lead with goals in the second and 19th minutes, capitalising on dominant possession that left Australian debutant goalkeeper Magnus McCausland a spectator.

Another Tasmanian debutant, Lachelie Rogers, was denied a dream debut moment when his shot hit the post.

Pakistan’s resurgence began in the final quarter.

Ahmed Nadeem ignited the comeback with a superb field goal in the 49th minute. The momentum swung decisively when Sufyan Khan hammered home a penalty corner in the 53rd minute, levelling the score at 2-2 and exposing Australia’s surprising inefficiency from nine set-piece chances.

With the match poised for a draw, controversy struck. A penalty corner was awarded to Australia in the 58th minute after a referral, a decision Pakistan hotly contested.

Blake Govers converted to restore Australia’s lead. In a final cruel twist, Pakistan earned what seemed a last-gasp penalty corner with five seconds remaining, only for the decision to be overturned after another successful Australian video referral.

The agonising loss extends a challenging run for Pakistan, who arrived in Australia after four straight defeats in Argentina.

Their campaign began with losses to the Netherlands (5-2, 7-3) and Argentina (3-2, 5-1).

Pakistan must now regroup quickly for a demanding schedule.

They face Germany on Wednesday, before a chance for redemption against Australia on Friday and conclude the leg against Germany again on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026

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KARACHI: Defending champions Wapda and Khan Research Laboratories marched into the semi-finals of the National Challenge Cup with authoritative wins in Tuesday’s quarter-finals here at the KPT Stadium.

KRL overcame a feisty, ill-tempered clash against Mamsons 2-0 thanks to two spectacular second-half strikes, while Wapda cruised past Air Force with three first-half goals in a 3-0 rout.

The match between KRL and Mamsons turned in the 28th minute when both teams were reduced to ten men following an altercation between Mamsons goalkeeper Usman Khan and KRL forward Mohammad Waheed, resulting in red cards for both.

KRL broke the deadlock just before halftime in stunning fashion. Najeebullah received the ball on the left, cut inside past two defenders, and unleashed a right-footed rocket that crashed in off the crossbar.

“After we went down to 10 men, the aim was to score as soon as possible,” said Najeebullah. “When I saw the space in front of me, I instinctively took a shot and thankfully it was a great goal.”

Mamsons pressed for an equaliser but were put to bed in the 79th minute when Moin Ahmed sealed the result with another long-range stunner, receiving a pass from the right before firing an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

KRL now awaits the winner of Wednesday’s quarter-final between Army and Nimso.

In the day’s other last-eight clash, Wapda dominated from the outset against PAF, with all three goals coming before the interval.

Mohammad Abdullah opened the scoring in the fifth minute, nodding home from close range after a shot and a header had struck the crossbar.

Adnan Saeed doubled the lead in the 23rd minute with a headed finish from a corner, and Ali Raza effectively ended the contest just before halftime with a crisp first-time volley from a right-wing cross.

PAF offered little response after the break as Wapda comfortably closed out the match.

“The plan was to press from the start,” said Wapda’s Samnan Qaisar. “We were putting in a lot of crosses in the box and they brought us goals.”

Wapda will face the winners of remaining quarter between SA Gardens and International Supply Company.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026

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