Three-time champions Islamabad United on Wednesday announced the retention prices of three retained players ahead of the historic 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) scheduled to be held from March 26 to May 3.
Owner Shatab Khan shared the details through their official Instagram handle, revealing the amount allotted to pacer Salman Irshad and USA batsman Andreas Gauss.
Shatab has been retained in the platinum category at a fee of PKR 70 million, while Salman Irshad, who has been retained in the platinum category, will earn PKR 12 million.
Meanwhile, Andris Kaus, retained in the Silver Division, was acquired by PKR for 14 million.
In the upcoming auction, the owners have been allocated a total budget of PKR 450 million. Islamabad United have so far spent PKR 96 million on their retained players.
Also, PKR 55 million has been earmarked for direct signing.
On Tuesday, Islamabad United confirmed the list of retained players ahead of the PSL 11 player auction, which is scheduled to take place on February 11.
The 11th edition of the PSL will mark a significant change in the league’s player selection process as the traditional draft system has been replaced by an auction-based model for the first time in the competition’s history.
Earlier, franchises were allowed to retain eight players – this was in place for the first 10 seasons.
However, under the revised rules for PSL 11, teams were allowed to retain only four players in different divisions, posing a new challenge for the franchises ahead of the auction.
A total of 15 players were placed in various retention categories. The Platinum category featured Shatab Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz and Imad Wasim, while no players were listed in the Diamond category.
The gold category includes Azam Khan, Haider Ali, Salman Irshad and Ramman Raees, while the silver category includes Mohammad Faiq and Hunain Shah. Saad Masood, Mohammad Shahzad and Ghazi Ghauri were featured in the emerging category.
The upcoming season will witness a major expansion of the league, with the PSL growing from six to eight teams. Hyderabad and Sialkot Stallions are new additions and will debut in the upcoming edition.
Mr Fawad Sarwar bought the Hyderabad franchise after successfully exiting the auction with a bid of PKR 1.75 billion (approximately US$ 6.25 million).
Meanwhile, the ownership of Sialkot Stallionz was acquired by Mr Hamza Majeed, who bid PKR 1.85 billion.
The 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League starts on March 26 and ends on May 3.
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