Cricket
PSL 2025 Rich List: Unveiling the Highest-Paid Players This Season
David Warner topped the charts in the list of top buys in the 2025 Pakistan Super League Draft. Who are the other cricketers to gain lucrative payouts for the tenth edition of PSL? Get to know the details of the top buys, PSL’s Player Valuation, and an exclusive analysis on the biggest earners.
Lahore Qalanders' players celebrating their victory//Getty Images
The current cricketing calendar is often jam-packed with franchise tournaments occupying the slots in each month. The transition from spring to summer in Asia is occupied with the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which has gained popularity among top global cricket leagues. The mega event has grown by leaps and bounds, gifting and nurturing numerous local talents on the path to their national call-up.
From time and again, the PSL has also attracted many overseas cricketers to participate. This has helped them to gel with the top Pakistan-bred cricketers and take their game to the next level. These come with monetary benefits in the form of lucrative salaries that often attract top stars in the league. As the competition reached its tenth edition, we, at SportsBoom, explore the highest-paid cricketers of the 2024/25 edition of the PSL.
Understanding PSL Player Valuation
Unlike auctions in renowned tournaments like the Indian Premier League, the PSL’s governing body conducts a draft. Before the draft, each of the six participating teams gets to retain a player from each of six categories – Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Emerging, and Supplementary.
Overseas players are mostly classified in the Platinum, Diamond, or Gold category, along with premium Pakistan cricket, which generally includes capped cricketers. There can be only three players belonging to the Platinum category, including any retained cricketers. It should include at least one local and one foreign cricketer. Similar rules are applicable for the Diamond category, while three players can be opted from the list of players labelled in the Gold category. By the end of this category, a team must have at least three overseas cricketers.
The teams are allowed to fetch five players from the Silver category, bringing the total crew to 14. These are mainly Pakistani cricketers with huge potential. The next two categories – Emerging and Supplementary – determine the will to pick cricketers from Pakistan’s talent hunt program. These are young or relatively inexperienced cricketers to have a bright future ahead. The teams must bet on their capability and build a squad of a minimum of 16 players with an upper limit of 18. A team in PSL must have a minimum of five and a maximum of six overseas cricketers.
The Top Earners: PSL 2025's Most Expensive Players
Attracting global stars and retaining domestic heroes comes at a price. Here are the players with the highest reported salaries for PSL 2025:
The Standout Star: Australian star cricketer David Warner was the biggest buy from PSL 2025, as the Karachi Kings roped him for $300,000. He has been one of the most talked-about cricketers in the global T20 cricket circuit. Not only is he a star in the IPL, but also donned the jersey in numerous leagues such as the Big Bash League, Global T20 League, International League T20, and Bangladesh Premier League, among others.
The Elite Bracket: There are quite a handsome number of elite cricketers in the PSL, fetching elusive price tags in 2025. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Abbas Afridi, etc, are a few of the names that are among the top expensive PSL players. From the foreign label, Australian all-rounder Matthew Short, New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand pacer Adam Milne, England top-order batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and Kiwi all-rounder Michael Bracewell have constituted the list of top PSL player earnings for 2025.
Most Expensive PSL 2025 Players
| Player | Team | Reported Salary (USD) |
| David Warner | Karachi Kings | $300,000 |
| Naseem Shah | Islamabad United | $220,000 |
| Matthew Short | Islamabad United | $220,000 |
| Shadab Khan | Islamabad United | $220,000 |
| Adam Milne | Karachi Kings | $220,000 |
| Abbas Afridi | Karachi Kings | $220,000 |
| Daryl Mitchell | Lahore Qalandars | $220,000 |
| Fakhar Zaman | Lahore Qalandars | $220,000 |
| Shaheen Afridi | Lahore Qalandars | $220,000 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | Multan Sultans | $220,000 |
| Michael Bracewell | Multan Sultans | $220,000 |
| Usama Mir | Multan Sultans | $220,000 |
| Babar Azam | Peshawar Zalmi | $220,000 |
| Saim Ayub | Peshawar Zalmi | $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 |
Analysis and Observations
Warner's Premium: Warner, the Australian veteran, has been the top buy at a whopping price of $300,000. The Karachi Kings snapped up his services as Warner was unsold in the Indian Premier League and made himself available for the PSL.
The southpaw has an incredible T20 legacy, having represented numerous franchises such as the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dubai Capitals, Delhi Capitals, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Winnipeg Hawks, Sylhet Strikers, Brampton Wolves, etc. He is one of the rare cricketers to have surpassed the 13000 runs in the T20 format. From 410 matches, Warner’s runs read 13281 at an average of V and a strike rate of 140.58. The left-hander has smashed eight hundreds in the format and 111 half-centuries. The numbers speak for themselves as to why Warner attracted such a high price during the PSL draft.
Star Power Distribution: Popular cricketers such as Naseem Shah, Muhammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Saim Ayub went for huge prices in the PSL 2025. Each one of the Pakistan national cricketers has fetched $220,000. Surprisingly, Abbas Afridi’s stock rose as he was bought for the same amount in the PSL draft for the Karachi side. Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen were the top local buys for Lahore Qalandars, while Usama Mir and Faheem Ashraf were a few astonishing names that were snared at a similar cost in PSL 2025.
Among the overseas lot, Warner was the top buy. The likes of Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Matt Short, Adam Milne, Finn Allen, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and Mark Chapman received $220,000. While Mitchell and Allen have been one of the best white ball cricketers for New Zealand in recent times, Milne’s bowling speed and seam movement stand out, Bracewell had a tremendous Champions Trophy, and Chapman has a stupendous batting record in Pakistan. Short is renowned for his all-round abilities, and Kohler-Cadmore is an explosive top-order batter who has scored piles of runs in T20s.
Team Investment: The Karachi Kings stand out in the investment list of Platinum sector cricketers for PSL 2025. They paid $740,000 to fetch the services of Warner, Milne, and Abbas. All other franchises spent $660,000 in the PSL draft to acquire the services of cricketers slotted in the Platinum list.
Conclusion
The PSL 2025 is one of the premium T20 leagues among all the global franchise leagues. Top-tier cricketers from around the globe arrive in Pakistan to blend with the local cricketing circuit, producing a cricketing extravaganza. With a rich legacy, the tournament expects to give birth to rising cricketers and get them used to the high-octane pressure of performing in international fixtures. The elusive salaries of cricketers are a byproduct of the player’s ability and expectations from the franchise owners. One can hope that the players get to reap the faith of their owners by uplifting the morale of the competition with their stellar performances.
SportsBoom Suggests
High salaries bring high expectations; bettors often scrutinize the performance of these top-paid players closely, as their contributions are seen as vital to team success and can significantly impact match odds and player performance markets.
References
- 1
PSL Draft Rules: PSL Schedule. Draft Rules. https://pslschedule.com.pk/draft-rules/ Accessed 25.05.2025
- 2
Top 10 Highest Paid Cricketers in PSL 2025: Jagran English. List of Top 10 Highest Paid Cricketers in Pakistan Super League 2025: David Warner, Babar Azam and Others. https://english.jagran.com/trending/list-of-top-10-highest-paid-cricketers-in-pakistan-super-league-2025-david-warner-babar-azam-and-others-10230635 Accessed 26.05.2025
- 3
Player Profile – David Warner: ESPNcricinfo. David Warner Profile and Stats. https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/david-warner-219889 Accessed 27.05.2025
Arijit, a young Sports Journalist, can be best described as a cricket nerd, who cherishes the wooden sphere beating the edge of the bat more often than a six middled off the willow.