PSL 12 Workshop Agrees Retention Deadline of 13 January 2027, Salary Caps and Auction Rules
PSL update · 2026-10-30 · Sources: PCB announcements and reputable cricket outlets as cited in this site's data notes
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What the workshop agreed on 29 October 2026
Representatives of all eight franchises met at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 29 October 2026 for a tournament operations workshop led by PSL CEO Salman Naseer, and unanimously agreed the framework governing squad composition, player movements and the PSL 12 player auction. The league announced the decisions through its official social media accounts on 30 October 2026, and GeoSuper, A-Sports, CricTracker and CricketWorld all reported the same framework the same day.
The headline decision is the retention deadline: every franchise must finalise and submit its player retention list by 13 January 2027, ten days before the player auction on 23 January 2027. Each franchise may retain a maximum of seven players, including its direct signing. Any franchise that retains the maximum seven must release one player from the highest price category of the previous auction into the general player pool, a provision designed to keep elite players available to all franchises at the auction.
The money is now fixed too. Each franchise will have a salary cap of PKR 45 crore (approximately USD 1.6 million) for the auction, rising to PKR 50.5 crore for franchises that make a direct signing, retain their previous season's direct signing, or do both. Every franchise must spend a minimum of PKR 36.5 crore (approximately USD 1.3 million). The PSL 12 Auction Rules were reviewed clause by clause at the workshop and unanimously approved by all eight franchises; the 23 January auction will be only the second player auction in the league's history.
Why the 13 January date matters
The deadline is deliberately placed around the domestic calendar. It falls after the National T20 Silver competition concludes and during the National T20 Gold tournament, so franchises finalise their retentions with Silver results in hand and Gold performances still unfolding — a last live form guide before the lists lock.
The timing also ends a week of speculation. The 23 October roadmap had left the retention deadline to the workshop, and an earlier meeting report had already named 13 January; that date is now confirmed by the league's own announcement, so this guide carries it as fact rather than as a report.
What is still unconfirmed
The direct-signing window remains open until 23 November 2026, and as of this check on 30 October 2026 no franchise had publicly announced a completed PSL 12 direct signing. The auction venue and start time are still unannounced — the proposal to hold the auction in China remains a proposal, not a decision. The match-by-match fixture list, venue split and ticket details are also still to come. Each will be added to the relevant page here the day the PCB or the league confirms it.
FAQs
When is the PSL 12 retention deadline?
Franchises must submit their PSL 12 retention lists by 13 January 2027, ten days before the player auction on 23 January 2027. The deadline was agreed at the franchise workshop on 29 October 2026 and announced by the league on 30 October 2026.
What is the PSL 12 salary cap?
Each franchise has a salary cap of PKR 45 crore for the PSL 12 auction, rising to PKR 50.5 crore if it makes a direct signing, retains its previous season's direct signing, or does both. The minimum spend is PKR 36.5 crore.
More PSL updates
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