Pakistan Super League draft 2025: All you need to know

Ahead of the player draft for this year's Pakistan Super League, The Cricketer explains who's involved and how it will work

The Cricketer | 12/01/2025 at 20:11

What is it?

The draft for the 10th season of the Pakistan Super League.

When will the draft take place?

The draft will take place on January 13, starting at 12.30pm local time.

In what order will teams pick their players and how does it work?

Following a revision of the number of categories, Lahore Qalandars - last term's bottom-placed side - will pick first, starting with the Platinum group.

Karachi Kings are next, with Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi, runners-up Multan Sultans and Islamabad United to follow

The second Platinum round starts with Gladiators, while Kings will pick twice on either side of Gladiators going third.

The order is generally dictated by the finishing position of each of the six franchises in the previous season but is tinkered with once retentions are confirmed.

While the selections are ongoing, each of the six sides will have the Right to Match Card that will allow them to pick any player released from their roster before the draft. They are applicable across all categories.

Each team must select a minimum of 16 players in each squad (maximum of 18) of which either five or six players must be from overseas.

In the pre-determined order, teams will each have the opportunity to add to their squads until all 14 categories are complete.

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Alex Hales and Jason Roy are among the English-qualified players seeking a deal from the Platinum category (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Which overseas players are available at platinum price?

Afghanistan: Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman, Naveen-ul-Haq

Australia: Ashton Agar, Chris Lynn, Cooper Connolly, David Warner, Daniel Sams, Usman Khawaja, Jason Behrendorff, Mark Steketee, Matthew Short, Moises Henriques, Riley Meredith, Sean Abbott, Will Sutherland

Bangladesh: Mustafizur Rehman, Shakib Al Hasan

England: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Clarke, Laurie Evans, Sam Billings, Tymal Mills, Tom Curran, Tom Kohler-Cadmore

New Zealand: Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell

South Africa: Imran Tahir, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi

Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis

West Indies: Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope

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^{Kane Williamson is a late addition to the platinum overseas category (Getty Images)}

Which players have been retained?

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah (both Platinum), Imad Wasim (mentor), Azam Khan (Diamond), Salman Ali Agha (Brand Ambassador), Haider Ali (Both Gold, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees (both Silver)

Karachi Kings: Hasan Ali, James Vince (both Diamond), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shan Masood (both Gold), Arafat Minhas (Brand Ambassador), Tim Seifert, Zahid Mehmood (all Silver)

Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman (both Platinum), Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), Sikandar Raza (both Diamond), Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan (all Gold), David Wiese (Silver)

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan, Usama Mir (both Platinum), David Willey (mentor), Iftikhar Ahmed (Brand Ambassador), Usman Khan (all Diamond), Chris Jordan (Gold), Faisal Akram (Silver)

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam, Saim Ayub (both Platinum), Mohammad Haris (Diamond), Arif Yaqoob, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufyan Moqim (Brand Ambassador) (all silver), Ali Raza (Emerging)

Quetta Gladiators: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir (mentor), Rilee Rossouw (all Diamond), Akeal Hosein, Saud Shakeel (Brand Ambassador), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (all Gold), Khawaja Muhammad Nafay, Usman Tariq (Silver)

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^{Islamabad United are the defending champions from 2024 (Getty Images)}

How can I watch the PSL draft?

The PSL draft can be watched on the Pakistan Super League YouTube channel.

How to watch PSL 2025 matches

Pakistan: Ary Zap secured the rights to this years PSL. The games will be live-streamed via A Sports HD. If you subscribe to Ary Zap but are outside of Pakistan, you will need to use a VPN, this will then allow you to visit Ary Zap here and watch the games. You can get a cheap VPN here.

UK: The PSL is available to watch in the UK on Sky Sports. You can buy a Sky Sports package here. You can sign up for Sky Sports cricket here or get a NowTV pass to watch the matches here.

India: Fans in India can watch the PSL 2025 on the Fancode app. You can sign up here.

When does the tournament start?

Due to the Champions Trophy, the 10th edition of the PSL is scheduled to begin later than normal, on April 10, thus overlapping with the Indian Premier League. The full schedule is still to be confirmed.