PSL raises salary cap, adds teams, but Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer still earn more than an entire squad combined

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has announced an increase in its salary cap in preparation for the 2026 season, which is set to be a significant milestone for the league as it transitions to an eight-team format and conducts an auction for the first time, moving away from the draft system. Although players will see a rise in their earnings this time, the new cap is still considerably lower than the salaries players receive in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

On Monday (January 19), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) disclosed that the salary cap has been raised to $1.6 million (approximately Rs. 14.5 crore) per team, up from the previous $1.3 million (around Rs. 11.3 crores) per team. This is the budget each of the eight teams will have for the auction, with a total possible expenditure of $12.8 million (approximately Rs. 116.48 crores).

Despite the PCB's announcement of increased salaries, there remains a significant disparity between the earnings of players in the PSL compared to those in the IPL. For instance, the two highest-paid players in the IPL, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, earn Rs. 27 and Rs. 26.75 crores respectively, which is nearly double the total salary of an entire PSL team in 2026.

Moreover, MS Dhoni received a bid of $1.5 million (around Rs. 6 crore at the time) during the first IPL auction in 2008, which is only marginally less than the total amount PSL teams will allocate for their entire squad this year. The salary cap for IPL teams in that inaugural season was $5 million (approximately Rs. 20 crore at the then exchange rate) per team, significantly surpassing the budget available to PSL teams in their 11th edition.

Looking ahead to 2026, the salary cap for IPL teams is set at Rs. 125 crores ($13.5 million), which is 758.5% higher (8.6 times more) than the per-team salary cap for PSL teams (Rs. 14.56 crores).

In 2026, the total expenditure on player salaries by the 10 IPL teams amounts to Rs. 1250 crores, representing a staggering increase of 973.1% (or 10.7 times) compared to the total spending of the eight teams, which is Rs. 116.48 crores. Indeed, as indicated by the figures, the salary cap for a single IPL team surpasses the entire budget of the eight teams combined in the PSL.

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