{"id":21645,"date":"2026-10-23T20:39:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T20:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/pcb-sets-ball-rolling-for-psl-12-with-direct-signings-window\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T20:40:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T20:40:45","slug":"pcb-sets-ball-rolling-for-psl-12-with-direct-signings-window","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/pcb-sets-ball-rolling-for-psl-12-with-direct-signings-window\/","title":{"rendered":"PCB sets ball rolling for PSL 12 with direct signings window"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mohsin Ali<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday opened the direct signings window for all eight HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises and announced the pre-season roadmap for the 12th edition of the tournament, scheduled to run from March 18 to May 2 next year.<\/p>\n

The player-movement process has started with immediate effect, while the Player Auction will be held on Jan 23 next year.<\/p>\n

According to the PCB, HBL PSL 12 will comprise 44 matches over 46 days, including 40 league fixtures and four playoffs. For the first time in the league\u2019s history, matches will be staged across five to six venues.<\/p>\n

Under the direct signings mechanism, each franchise has been allowed to recruit one marquee player who did not take part in either HBL PSL 10 or HBL PSL 11. The direct signings window will remain open until Nov 23.<\/p>\n

A workshop with the franchises is due next week, where retention deadlines, the pre-auction trade window, auction regulations and playing conditions will be finalised.<\/p>\n

In a major step for domestic cricket, the PCB has also formally linked the National T20 Gold and National T20 Silver tournaments with the PSL pre-season calendar. The two events will now act as the main talent-identification route, giving leading domestic performers a clearer pathway into the franchise competition and, potentially, the national team.<\/p>\n

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the upcoming season would be the most ambitious edition of the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cHBL PSL is Pakistan cricket\u2019s biggest stage, and Season 12 will be its most ambitious yet. HBL PSL 11 ended before a record crowd, and we are building on that momentum by taking the league to more cities than ever before,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roadmap we have finalised and are partially announcing today gives every stakeholder, from franchises and players to commercial partners and broadcasters, the certainty to plan at the highest level. With the foundations now in place, we are looking forward to an exciting season.\u201d<\/p>\n

HBL PSL Chief Executive Officer Salman Naseer also underlined the importance of expanding the league\u2019s geographical footprint, saying the move would take the competition closer to supporters across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, HBL PSL will go to five to six venues, bringing the league closer to fans across Pakistan and giving more cities the chance to host the best of T20 cricket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom today, the race to build the best squad for HBL PSL 12 is on. Every Direct Signing, every trade, every retention decision over the coming weeks will shape the teams that take the field in March. We look forward to a season that takes this league further than it has ever gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest announcement follows the landmark 2026 season, when the PSL was expanded to eight teams with the inclusion of Hyderabad Kingsmen and Rawalpindiz. Peshawar Zalmi won their second title by defeating debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen in the final at Gaddafi Stadium, where a record crowd of 32,461 was in attendance.<\/p>\n

That season was also hit by regional tensions and fuel shortages, which compelled the organisers to hold most matches in Lahore and Karachi.<\/p>\n

Further details about venues, the full schedule and commercial arrangements are expected in the coming weeks as franchises begin putting together their squads for the tournament.<\/p>\n

The PCB is hoping the next edition will offer a wider and more accessible experience for fans of Pakistan\u2019s premier T20 league.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PCB opens the direct signings window for all eight HBL PSL franchises as the 12th edition is set to run from March 18 to May 2 next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":21644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21646,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21645\/revisions\/21646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}