Highest-paid cricketers of PSL 2025 including Warner, Babar and Shaheen

Tenth edition of franchise league concludes on Sunday

Karachi Kings' David Warner, left, during a PSL match against Peshawar Zalmi. AFP

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