Rawalpindi unveil retentions ahead of PSL player auction

Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Rawalpindi on Wednesday announced their retained players ahead of the highly anticipated player auction for season 11, marking a new chapter following a historic ownership change.

Earlier this week, Walee Technologies secured the rights to the Multan franchise with a record bid of PKR 2.45 billion, the highest in PSL history, and subsequently rebranded the team as Rawalpindi.

The franchise retained former Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan in the Platinum category for PKR 5.60 crore.

England’s hard-hitting batter Sam Billings was picked in the Diamond category for PKR 3.08 crore, while pacer Zaman Khan was placed in the Gold category for PKR 1.12 crore.

Young batter Yasir Khan completes the retained list in the Silver category for PKR 60 lakh.

Following these retentions, Rawalpindi have PKR 34.60 crore remaining in their purse as they head into the PSL 11 player auction scheduled later today.

For context, each franchise has been allocated a total budget of PKR 45 crore (PKR 450 million) for squad building, along with an additional PKR 5.5 crore reserved for direct signings under the league’s newly introduced auction-based system.

PSL 11 marks a historic shift as the tournament moves away from its traditional draft model to a full-fledged auction for the first time.

All other franchises, including the two new teams, Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen and Sialkot Stallionz, have already confirmed their retentions and direct signings.