PSL 11 Player Auction 2026: A Historic Shift as Cricket’s Biggest Stars Go Under the Hammer

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LAHORE – The wait is finally over. Tomorrow, February 11, 2026, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) enters a brave new era. For the first time in its eleven-year history, the league is trading its traditional draft system for a high-stakes Player Auction. The atmosphere at the Lahore Expo Center is already electric as franchise owners prepare to engage in aggressive bidding wars for the world’s best T20 talent.

The Great Reset: From Draft to Auction

Since its inception, the PSL has relied on a categorized draft. However, the shift to an auction format in 2026 marks a massive upgrade in terms of global prestige and financial scale. With a total prize pool and team purses reaching record highs, tomorrow’s event is expected to see player valuations skyrocket to unprecedented levels.

Key Auction Details at a Glance

Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Venue: Expo Center, Lahore
Total Players: 461 (345 National, 116 International)
Team Purse: PKR 45 Crore (approx. $1.6M) per franchise
Squad Size: Minimum 16, Maximum 20 players

The Expansion: Eight Teams, One Trophy

PSL 11 isn’t just bigger because of the auction; it’s bigger because of the competition. Two new franchises join the hunt this year:

Sialkot Stallionz: Bringing the cricketing passion of the industrial hub.
Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen: Representing a unique cross-continental partnership.

Both newcomers have already pre-selected four marquee players each, but tomorrow is their first real test in building a championship-winning squad from scratch.

Who Will Be the PSL’s First “Crorepati”?

While the auction will feature 461 players, fans will notice some major names missing from the bidding blocks because they have already been “locked in” by their respective teams:

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars): The legendary captain will lead the Qalandars again, having been retained for PKR 7 crore.

Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi): The King remains in the Yellow Storm. Zalmi has retained Babar for PKR 7 crore in the Platinum category.

The Mohammad Rizwan Factor

With Babar and Shaheen out of the auction, the spotlight has shifted entirely to Mohammad Rizwan. Following the sale and rebranding of his former team, Rizwan has been released into the auction pool with a top-tier base price of PKR 4.2 crore.

As one of the most successful captains and consistent openers in T20 history, Rizwan is expected to be the subject of the most intense bidding war in PSL history. Every team, especially the new Sialkot Stallionz and Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen, will likely be eyeing him as a potential captaincy candidate.

The PKR 2.45 Billion Bombshell: Multan Sultans are Now ‘Rawalpindi’

In a record-breaking deal finalized just a day ago, Walee Technologies secured the ownership rights of the Multan Sultans for a staggering PKR 2.45 billion. The new owners have officially announced a major rebranding: the franchise will now be known as Rawalpindi.

In a bold strategic move, the new Rawalpindi management has chosen zero retentions, opting to enter the auction with the league’s maximum possible purse. This means they will be building an entire 16-to-20-member squad from scratch tomorrow morning.

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