The 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League has been an unforgettable one.
The tournament organisers decided to hold the league right in the middle of the Indian Premier League. The clash, which was earlier seen as a no-no for any franchise league, was fully embraced by the Pakistan Cricket Board and it seems to have paid off.
Moving the PSL owed much to the Champions Trophy that was held in Pakistan earlier in the year, and secondly due to the increasingly crowded schedule at the beginning of the year.
The PSL began on April 11 with six teams – Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars – fighting it out for the top prize.
There was a week-long interruption due to an unexpected but explosive conflict between India and Pakistan that threatened to upend not just cricket but normal life in both countries.
However, the conflict thankfully ended very soon, allowing the PSL to return and hold the last set of matches.
Upon PSL's return, Pakistan cricket fans came back to the stadiums in encouraging numbers, having earlier stayed away for most of the matches.
The PSL had gone to great lengths to ensure the tournament was held as smoothly as possible, even planning to relocate to the UAE at one point to complete the remaining fixtures.
They had earlier attempted to make the league as financially lucrative as possible, offering greater salaries to the top players with the hope that they would remain in the league and not switch to the IPL mid-tournament.
According to the Pakistan board, a separate fund of $1 million was created to pay the top players over and above what they would receive through the player draft, which has a salary cap.
Players in PSL were placed in five sections – platinum, diamond, gold, silver and emerging. The best overseas and local players are in the platinum category and receive the best remuneration.
Highest-paid players of PSL 2025
David Warner (Karachi Kings): $300,000
Daryl Mitchell (Lahore Qalandars): at least $220,000
Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi): $220,000
Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars): $220,000
Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars): $220,000
Saim Ayub (Peshawar Zalmi): $220,000
Naseem Shah (Islamabad United): $220,000
Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans): $220,000
Matthew Short (Islamabad United): $220,000
Shadab Khan (Islamabad United): $220,000
Michael Bracewell (Multan Sultans): $220,000
Kane Williamson (Karachi Kings): $220,000
Usama Mir (Multan Sultans): $220,000
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Peshawar Zalmi): $220,000
Faheem Ashraf (Quetta Gladiators): $220,000
Finn Allen (Quetta Gladiators): $220,000
Mark Chapman* (Quetta Gladiators): $220,000
Adam Milne (Karachi Kings): $220,000
Abbas Afridi (Karachi Kings): $220,000
